Michigan joins the rest of us

[bgtg19]

I live and officiate in Michigan. It is my opinion that the lawsuit was wrongly decided by a judge who did not, and does not, understand the purpose of high school athletics.

Having said that, the woe-is-me lines I have heard from many in my state are wearing thin. We'll adjust and we'll be just fine. As Rut pointed out, it's not like Michigan has any fewer gyms than high schools in other states. Now the boys and girls basketball teams will have to share gym time? I suppose if the girls volleyball teams were practicing out in the snow, that might take a bigger adjustment, but it turns out that volleyball practices take place ... wait for it ... in a gym. I don't think the concerns about lack of quality officials are legitimate either. In my area, we've all received our assignments and the assignors are not pulling out their hair about any shortages. Assignors around here have insisted that if you want to work boys games you'll work girls games, too (and vice versa). So, for good or for ill, boys and girls will have the same "quality."

Parenting has taught me that "equality" does not mean "sameness." And, even though Michigan's sport seasons are now the "same" for boys and girls, we still have work to do (as most every state and area do) before we reach the desired and deserved equality. The lawsuit was a crutch, and a poor one at that. But where our feet take us now that we're done with the crutches is up to us.