As a passionate sports addict, I find the sexist transgressions in elite sport truly disturbing, but they are only the tip of the iceberg in the universal humiliation of so many women, not just by those who hold power and influence (“Elite sport is a cesspit of casual misogyny”, Comment, 27/10) Pointing out that sport is among society’s most stubborn patriarchies belies a far more pervasive and profound malaise; a total lack of respect for women too easily dismissed as “immaturity” by Oliver Brown.
Maybe it would be instructive to dismantle the layers of delusion about women in our world per se to acknowledge that sport is but a microcosm of our world writ large. It should not be the responsibility of sports’ managing bodies to hold these perpetrators accountable for their actions, but of our legal infrastructure. Sex discrimination belongs in the courts. It is not good enough to simply lambast these perpetrators as mere misogynists if we really want an equal game of play both on and off the field. Otherwise, we just contribute to the mockery of having a sex discrimination law that’s rendered meaningless.