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.