WPCNR VIEW FROM THE UPPER DECK. By John F. Bailey.  December 20, 2004:  The geniuses who run Section I have perpetrated another inept move, aided and abetted by the Recreation and Parks Geniuses at the County, and a distinct lack of comprehension of what  the spirit of Title IX means.

THE MADISON SQUARE GARDEN OF WESTCHESTER: THE ART DECO MASTERPIECE, THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY CENTER: FOR MEN ONLY.

Photo, WPCNR Sports Archive

They have not moved any of the girls championships there. Instead the high flying fillies will play not even in Westchester County. They will play in Dutchess County or on the Bronx border in Iona, or possibly at Pace. They will not have the thrill of the County Center upper deck looking down on them. They will not play in the arena from the 30s --the Madison Square Garden of Westchester County.

Because they are girls. If they were boys. They'd be in.

Is this fair? No.

Does it make sense? No.

Is it defensible? No.

And, no one has said anything about it.

Well I'm sitting up here in the smokey rafters of the old Madison Square Garden and I'm blowing the whistle.

It is a slam-dunk multi-million dollar Title IX lawsuit.

Some lawyer-parent of a girls basketball player should sue Section I and Westchester County for a violation of Title IX which calls for equal treatment of male and female athletes, or you lose your federal funding on educational matters.

Another Lame Call by the Section I Boys.

These are the same Section I Geniuses who are attempting to prevent Thanksgiving Day football games being played to preserve their demented playoff system which leaves only one football team in the state happy in each Class after a good season.

Now, pardon me, but Westchester County shares the blame, too.

Part of the reason for not having the championships in the County Center is blamed on the fact they have the circus booked there and do not want to give up the revenue.

Calls to Susan Tolchin, Chief Advisor to County Executive Andy Spano and Director of Communications to respond on the county’s rationale for this decision have not been responded to as of Monday morning.

What’s a little loss?

Since when has that bothered Westchester County Recreation and Parks, losing a little revenue?

Kick out the circus for two to three days, so the girls and the boys can have their championships there! Come on!

If the circus doesn’t want to do it, pay them anyway. We now have this $9 Million surplus, don’t we, Andy and Joe (Stout)?  Dissing the Women’s basketball players is much easier than telling the boys they can’t play in the County Center (a tradition).

Since when has the county cared anything about wasting money on recreation?

Hudson Hills cost $20 Million. Hudson Hills loses money. The county golf courses lose money. And we cannot keep the County Center open for our best teen athletes because of the circus?

We love the Royal Hannaford Circus. This is not their fault, this is the county’s fault and the Section’s fault who cannot schedule intelligently.

An embarrassment.

The head of County recreation and parks should be called on the carpet for this scheduling mess.

The county also should check with their lawyer on the Title IX aspects of this cold decision to shut the Long Tall Sallys  out of the County Center venue.

If that is not discrimination against women I do not know what is. How politically correct are we on this one? We can hold controversial art exhibits in the County Center, but we cannot give the top classes of Women’s High School Basketball equal treatment with the boys?

Wrong-O!

I am sick of men running Section I and making lousy decisions for female athletes.

I have a conflict of interest. I have a daughter.

Every man and woman who has a daughter should be on the phone to Section I, their athletic directors and principals at their high schools, and The County Executive's Office  and telling the county this is a WRONG-O.

Allowing four Boys Championships to be played in the Center and shuttling the girls up to the middle of the state into small gyms  is cruel, blatant unusual prejudice against every women's athletic program in the county.

All coaches of women's sports, male or female should be up in arms, and simply say we’re not going to do it.

Every father of a daughter should blast the Section I Girls Basketball Brains, for agreeing to go along with old boy thinking. How is this action representing the best interest of his female athletes? Could you tell me that?

Where is Mario Scarano when you need him? You can be assured he would never let this happen, and no athletic director should send their women's team to the sectionals. Let's get rid of them once and for all.

Play the top Classes of Women and Men in the Center

Would it be such a hurt for the boys and girls to play the larger class championships in the County Center, A and AA, and the smaller class championships elsewhere?

No.  The reason given saying it is o.k. for Westchester girls to play in satellite arenas (out of Westchester County) is that they have done it before for many years is weak.

Think of it, the White Plains Tigers, the New Rochelle Huguenots, the Mount Vernon Knights playing perhaps in Iona, or way up in Dutchess County.  Does that make sense?

No, it does not.

It’s just an easy out for the Sectional bosses and the county.

Being fair to women’s sports is always a great idea for the men who run section I, until it involves a little work, and saying “no” to other male coaches.

Girls basketball is being discriminated against here.

 Wake up and blow the whistle, girls, and girls basketball coaches, male or female, stand up for your ladies.

Throw these guys who run Section I out of there and replace them with fair-minded individuals.  They do not have the best interests of the athletes at heart in the least.

The children could run Section I better than they do.

Ready for the Sanctimonious Sachems.

Now, a response to this column from Section will be very sanctimonious saying they looked very hard at it and there was no way they could do this. It just happened, and will never happen again, and that I am being unfair to men and women who work very hard on high school sports.

Bunk.

I reject that. You haven’t worked hard on it at all. I also say if you all had your way you would dump women’s sports altogether, because they are a nuisance to you. That’s the mindset of a decision like this.

Booting Soccer to Fall Another Example.

Oh, and the movement of women’s soccer to the fall  because of fear of a lawsuit. That’s another dopey decision because it forces women to choose from 5 sports in the fall and only 3 in the spring, and prevents girls from playing field hockey, if they love soccer.

You – all of you in Section I have done the easy thing on the County Center.

You always do the easy thing.

What do the Boys Say?

And Girls Stand up for yourselves.

No one else will.

Male athletes have far more respect for their lady athlete counterparts than the adults who are running women sports.

This Women-Men’s basketball decision is another example of why women should be touchy about the least hint of unfairness. Women are always asked to cooperate and go along with an unfair decision, using the excuse, “it’s in the best interests of all, and it’s the best we can do, and this won’t happen again. Believe us, we had no idea.”

The men who usually force these kind of decision acceptances on women rely on women’s capacity to be conciliatory. They use it against you.

Lady basketball players and directors of women’s programs it’s time for you to pick up a Technical on this one, come off the bench jumping up and down, turning over gatorade kegs and throwing basketballs into the stands. 

There is plenty of time to get some Women’s Games into the County Center. The season is just started.

Let’s get them in there. (The County Center).

No Comment.

In fact, Section knows it is wrong and trying to pull a fast one.

 WPCNR attempted last week to contact the head of Section I responsible for this decision, the Athletic Director at Carmel, to get his side, we did so twice. The gentleman did not return our phone calls to discuss this matter.

Flagrant Foul.

This is a flagrant foul on Women’s basketball by Section I and the Women should shoot 2, and retain possession.