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Interesting article...on one hand, I agree with some of his points. For anyone to say that men have an equal chance of "moving up" the D1 ladder as a woman does is naive. I've been there - and been told flat out "You are better than them, BUT..." . I have watched assignors hire female officials with one-tenth (or less) the experience of myself and others, and tell us "I have my reasons". Are there great female officials - absolutely! Are there great male officials working the Women's game - absolutely! Are there officials who don't belong at that level - absolutely! (On both the Men's and Women's side, btw).
On the other hand, it's pretty silly to say we should have the same pool of officials doing both sides...the games are different. Yes the men's game is faster, played above the rim, etc, etc...but in a lot of ways, it's easier to officiate. Physically it may be more demanding (altho reffing a good Women's game where the score is in the upper 90's for both teams is exhausting), but mentally it's not. I have had to "fill-in" for officials (granted, this was D-2 and D-3) in men's games, and the game was much easier to officiate - the fouls were way more obvious, the advantages gained were way more obvious, etc...on the other hand, I had a d-1 men's official have to work a Women's d-2 game with me several years back ( he works Pac-10. West Coast, and Big Sky) and his comment afterward was "That was the hardest game I've reffed in years. You have to make a decision on every single play." The games are just different...
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