In a Washington Post opinion piece, Boston University professor Joshua Pederson tries to cleanse himself of “failing at one of the basic tasks of parenthood” by declaring that toxic masculinity is central to organized sports.
It is Pederson himself who claims he worried that he was failing at parenthood because his 7-year-old son hated organized sports. To be clear, he was being far too harsh on himself: Some children just don’t enjoy athletic pursuits in the more structured environment of organized sports, with coaches and referees. Looking for an excuse to let himself off the hook for his perceived failure, Pederson decides that it is sports that are the problem, not his parenting.
Pederson goes on to detail several examples, from the recently released emails of former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden to the sexual assault allegations against Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson to the reports of sexual abuse and harassment in the National Women’s Soccer League. Therefore, he finds that he has come to agree with the idea that “sports is a stronghold of toxic masculinity and sexual violence.”
Of course, there are negative, and even criminal, sports experiences. That would make sports no different than public schools for children or any other multimillion-dollar industry, such as Hollywood, for adults. Organized sports are neither inherently good nor inherently bad. They are not a “stronghold of toxic masculinity and sexual violence” any more than any other institutions are.
As someone who has played and now coaches organized sports, it is clear that it is the people involved who determine your sports experience. For every one scandal or terrible team environment, there are multiple examples of sports changing lives for the better.
Take Muhsin Muhammad. Playing for Nick Saban at Michigan State University, Muhammad was arrested after violating probation when police discovered a gun in his car. Saban was pressured to kick him off the team, but instead, he worked with him and helped him earn a second chance. Muhammad went on to have a successful 14-year career in the NFL and create his own charity foundation. Saban’s message of second chances lives on as he continues to coach.
As great of a coach as he is, I honestly wonder if we’re wasting Nick Saban on football. Guy absolutely kills it when he talks about larger societal issues. pic.twitter.com/qsdxwera2n
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) August 26, 2019
There are plenty more examples of this, with athletes crediting coaches or teammates for helping turn their lives around. Even on a less extreme level, one does not have to look far to find youth athletes who view their coaches as role models or their teammates as now lifelong friends. Among other things, organized sports instill the values of teamwork, perseverance, and improving oneself in millions of children across the country every year. Do Gruden’s crass emails really offset those lifelong bonds and lessons?
Pederson, of course, was not failing at parenthood because his son didn’t want to play soccer. But by using an outlet such as the Washington Post to declare that sports are inseparable from “toxic masculinity” and sexual violence, he has failed to recognize why so many parents, including him, push their children into organized sports in the first place.
