Fairness is a question of perspective...
South Africa is up in arms because the international athletics association dared to question Caster Semenya's gender. The local politicos are screaming racism - Which is mildly odd, if predictable. Not that South Africans aren't racists often enough but sport is the one area where South Africans do push racism aside if means winning.
I loved seeing a young South African athlete truimph, and I sure as hell don't care what their skin color is!
Now... I'd be the first to agree that they handled this badly, insensitively. It's a hell of thing to face an 18 year old with.
But... - her testosterone levels are very high. This could be natural. This could be genetic. Hell, I'd hate to penalize someone for something like that.
But there is another side to that coin. If we divide a sport by gender or age or even disability to make it fairer and more competitive... where do you draw the line? Is it not unfair to women whose bodies do not produce high levels of testosterone? Where do we say the line is?
I must admit, I don't know.
I loved seeing a young South African athlete truimph, and I sure as hell don't care what their skin color is!
Now... I'd be the first to agree that they handled this badly, insensitively. It's a hell of thing to face an 18 year old with.
But... - her testosterone levels are very high. This could be natural. This could be genetic. Hell, I'd hate to penalize someone for something like that.
But there is another side to that coin. If we divide a sport by gender or age or even disability to make it fairer and more competitive... where do you draw the line? Is it not unfair to women whose bodies do not produce high levels of testosterone? Where do we say the line is?
I must admit, I don't know.