A few days ago, there was a news story that Our Lady of Sorrows, an Arizona high school run by a breakaway sect of the Catholic Church, had forfeited a game against Mesa Prep due to the fact that Mesa’s second baseman is female, citing religious beliefs. This is, of course, something that goes against every bone in my and most Americans’ bodies. It also is shameful in how it echoes past prejudices held in sports. Continue reading to see what I mean:

What I’m trying to figure out is how what OLOS is doing is any different from this football headline from October, 1923:

Or this headline from 1946, as Jackie Robinson was just starting up with the Montreal Royals:

And, come to think of it, how is it any different from how Iranians refuse to face Israelis in the Olympics?

Sports are supposed to be about facing each other on the field, regardless of race, gender, social status, nationality or any other circumstance. When people refuse to accept this, no matter what their excuse (whether it be religious, political, racial or any other reason), they are bringing shame upon themselves and whoever they claim to represent.

It also shows their hypocrisy: they claim that they are trying to be above or better than the group they discriminate against… and yet they don’t seem to be in any hurry to try and prove this on the field. Perhaps because they are afraid that they, like so many previous bigots, will be proven wrong.

This has been one of the few times I’m going to be stepping on a soap box about anything that is outside of sports. We now return to your regularly scheduled Baseball Continuum.