For this logic to work, we have to show that volleyball players haven't in the past received neck and brain injuries from balls spiked by girls. Girls volleyball has a high rate of concussions. Girls have a long history of receiving neck and brain injuries from balls spiked by girls.
For your logic to work, we need to let a bunch of dudes smash volleyballs into girls faces. Let’s compare how much worse the damage is from that with historic girl v girl injury data.
This unfortunate incident was easily avoidable but ….. I guess the people who allowed this young trans-man to play girls volleyball never watched the movie “Meet the Parents”.
I find it ironic that the same people who claim there is no reason girls shouldn’t play on boys teams don’t want this TRANS WOMAN playing on tue boys team. I mean just in this thread we heard from several how girls are just as capable as boys in high school and can compete on their teams…
I tend to agree with you on the issue of competitive fairness. But I am still questioning the safety argument with respect to some sports at least. The fact that we have co-ed soccer and co-ed volleyball play at all seems to suggest that we don’t think it’s just inherently too dangerous for girls/women to play with boys/men. Same for softball and dodgeball and some other sports. Should we abolish or discourage co-ed/mixed play in those sports entirely? I guess the response to that could be that they’re signing up for any additional risks but then it becomes a question of notice?
Mixed volleyball already exists. Presumably, the respective injury data exists and could be compiled and analyzed. Maybe someone has already done that for all I know.
Mixed in high school? Seems very unfair for a dude to spike against the gals. But go ahead and poke holes because y’all enjoy pulling traditions apart, just to do it. Where did common sense go?
Yes, co-ed volleyball exists for HS aged kids too based upon my quick search. I just pulled up one such site in Florida for HS aged co-ed volleyball (below). You mockingly said to another poster that we would have to let boys smash girls in the face based upon his post. I am noting that girls and women are already playing with boys and men in volleyball and maybe injury data is already out there or could be compiled. Seems like it would be very relevant in this discussion. I’ve conceded the point about males’ competitive advantage in most sports and think that objection can stand on its own without making assumptions about safety considerations. Your accusation about my motivation here would make more sense if I were not conceding the fairness argument. High School Coed
Just the name of the sport with coed infers a non-competitive option for people who are sub par athletes. You know I’m right. I’m lacking patience for libbies who know the truth but enjoy debating and parsing words for no purpose except to obfuscate. Maybe that’s not you, but since you posted a point that goes against common sense, I’m suspicious.
1. I suspect they use 8 foot nets, not 7 ft 4 inches. 2. At least in coed, you probably have taller males blocking hitters 3. You know the risk going in.
Year round. Although, a person can get their feet in the door with an internship that's for summer/training camp or the season.
Is there actually any proof of that other than a poster claiming it? Somebody had a radar gun tracking the speed of spikes at a girls' volleyball game between two smaller high schools in North Carolina? You'd only find it ironic if you fundamentally misunderstand why. If the transgender girl wanted to play on the boys' team, I'd fully support her making that choice.
I will say that it is almost impossible that this kid spiked the ball at 70 mph. The fastest spike ever recorded, by a Japanese Olympian in 2012 was 132 kph, or ~ 82 mph. However, the Average male Olympian spikes the ball at between 65-75 mph. Average male colligate players spike the ball between 50-60 mph. Average male high school players spike the ball between 40-50 mph I don't believe that the strike came anywhere close to 70mph. Someone may have screwed up the story or the quote and it was suggested that the speed was 70 KPH (which would be 44 MPH), which would make more sense. Having lost our only child as an infant, I am not sure if I have a standing to make a comment about these stories, but offer my thoughts here. My youngest niece played soccer in high school in S Florida and did compete against a trans-girl playing for a rival school (way pre-DeSantis). My observation of 1 single child was the trans-girl was marginally stronger than the other girls, but had a severe lack of coordination and was frankly terrible. Several girls on my niece's team could dribble circles around her in the mid-field. All of this is a lot of words to say I am not sure where I would come down on this issue if I had children now. I fundamentally oppose any state sponsored bigotry toward trans-children. I also understand that, especially starting around high school ages that the physical development of biological boys and girls diverges significantly with boys being much, much stronger. I honestly do not have an answer or suggestion on how to maintain integrity of kids sports, while still be sensitive to all children, just not the ones we decide are "normal" or "acceptable". Finally, and coming full circle to the volleyball discussion. Volleyball is an incredibly dangerous sport, despite the probability of injury being very small. Though when injuries do happen, they are brutal. Somewhere around 1990-1991 I watched UF outside hitter Gudi Staub break the nose (we guessed from the blood) of the Ole Miss setter with a huge spike. I can still hear that thud and see the blood fly. Sadly it happens, especially if the defender is not at the same level of the attacker and the hands are just a little bit slower. I do not know if this is relevant at all, but bad things happen in sports.
Query, what is more dangerous, a volleyball spiked at 70 mph or a small metal projectile at 2000 feet per second? Sadly, 2022 has already seen at least 32 transgender people fatally shot or killed by other violent means. We say “at least” because too often these stories go unreported — or misreported. In previous years, the majority of these people were Black and Latinx transgender women. In 2021, the Human Rights Campaign tracked a record number of violent fatal incidents against transgender and gender non-conforming people — with 50 fatalities tracked. Fatal Violence Against the Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Community in 2022 Hate crimes against transgender people, especially women, are way up. The above is just the number of murders, and does not count other assaults or harassment. This was findable with a quick Google search. It doesn’t necessarily break down individual causation. There’s a chance that none of these deaths were caused by individual hatred motivated by concern over what to do about transgender visibility. It’s possible some of them were and it’s likely it will be very hard to establish any single one of them were, though it’s also logical but some of them were likely caused by such hatred. But that’s besides the point. Because there’s really no evidence of injuries yet occurring due to transgender participation in women’s sports, although it may happen at some point. But does that theoretical possibility of a future incident justify the amount of attention? What is statistically more likely? That leaving the issue of regulating competitive fairness and danger to individual sports leagues might result in an injury, or that regularly focusing on the danger from transgender individuals acting as normal members of society and coming up with theoretical ways to find them dangerous is going to get someone killed or assaulted, which it likely already has? Should an opposing female volleyball player fear a spike from a much bigger and stronger opponent? Sure, I can see that. Not sure how often it happens, but not unreasonable. Should a trans woman fear violence motivated by hatred of her or the attacker’s self-hatred, given a permission structure created by continual public “discussion” about the harm caused by increased transgender acceptance? 1000x yes.
Reasonable because it doesn't engage in baseless fearmongering, doesn't create a bunch of straw men because it's unable to reckon with the actual conversation in this thread, and doesn't pretend there's some easy, just solution to this nuanced problem.
