Women football players tackle stereotypes
■ Potential athletes for a pro
football team are more
concerned with giving their
all than with breaking a nail
By Erin Middleton
for the Emerald
As a cool breeze blew across the
green turf field next to the Recreation
try out for a new professional
women’s football league.
Women’s football? “What’s this?”
I asked myself. Is it like powder puff,
the game I tried to organize as a
fundraiser in high school with other
girls? I tried, but in the end, the game
fell flat on its face because we could
never get it together.
Or would it be like tag football, the
fifth- and sixth-grade PE game we
used to play with boys and girls run
ning around grabbing a colorful rib
* 9 9 ""'9 %9 --9
Reporter’s
NOTEBOOK
Center Satur
day, about 40
young
women
stretched,
sprinted, and
prepared to
bon from somebody’s waist?
I soon found out this was the real
deal, I would not find any ribbons in
this game, nor would this be a
fundraiser. It was going to be full
contact football, just with women.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I think
women playing football is a great
idea, something that’s never been
done before, but I had to ask the
coach (in not so many words): “How
are you going to get rid of the stereo
type of big-breasted, beautiful
women running around in tight
clothing, wrestling in mud together?”
“Hey, this ain’t no powder-puffin’.
It’s just as fast ... as strong ... as
men’s football,” owner and manager
Randall Field said. Field stressed the
point that the women trying out
were “full-fledged athletes” and
were going to be “more vicious than
men playing football.”
As women assembled on the field,
coach Osbourn Thomas, in an at
tempt to gain their attention, called
out “Hey guys!” Then, after a brief
pause, he corrected himself, saying,
“Ladies,” followed by a brief smile
and a laugh. I can see Thomas is go
ing to take some time adjusting to the
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>
fact that females are now going to be
running the show — literally.
As I watched women of all ages,
heights, weights, hair colors, nail
colors, bra sizes, and shoe sizes run
40-yard sprints, I realized they
meant business. I reminisced about
one of my favorite all-time movies,
“A League of Their Own.” You
know, the one starring Tom Hanks,
Madonna, Geena Davis, Rosie O’
Donnell, and a bunch of other peo
ple, playing in the first-ever all
women professional baseball league.
Hanks has a hard time coaching fem
inine characters in a male-dominat
ed sport, but the women drive on
with spirit and charisma. I love that
movie! Go women! I asked some of
the prospective players what their
thoughts were about being in the
first-ever professional Women’s
American Football League.
“I think it’s fun. It’s a good oppor
tunity for women to get out and play
some ball,” said Christie Harden
brook. Hardenbrook, along with oth
er women, said she had always
wanted to play football. Well, now I
guess this is their chance.
As Thomas gave the team a five
minute break, I wandered to the
sideline to talk to some women get
ting a drink of water, when I noticed
something out of the corner of my
eye. Player Cindy Ottley’s knee was
covered in clumps of turf and bright
red blood. She sat calmly, but I
freaked out.
“I dove for a pass ... it’s all right,”
she said. “I played soccer and was
goalie. It’s part of sports.”
Ottley did not need any assis
tance, not even a Band-Aid. When I
asked Ottley what position she
hoped to play, she responded,
“Hopefully I’ll be a linebacker, so I
can hit people.”
I definitely do not want to get on
her bad side.
This team is for real — women are
going to play football. There’s not go
ing to be make-up or pretty jewelry,
and whining will not be tolerated.
These are the criteria of the Oregon
Unforgiven, one of two teams in the
new Women’s American Football
League from Oregon. The other team
hails from Portland, known as the
Rose City Wildcats.
The 40 or so young women stand
ing on the turf eagerly awaited their
next order to do push-ups, sprints,
shuttle runs or passes. They weren’t
as ready to go home as I was. I ad
mired their stamina.
As tryouts were coming to an end
and I was exhausted from just stand
ing around, Thomas yelled out,
“This is the fourth quarter. This is
where we get better. I want every sec
ond to count.”
Every second to count, I thought.
I’ve been out here for two hours. I’m
tired, let me go home.
I am proud of my fellow females
for doing something they’ve never
been given the chance to do: play a
sport that only men, up until now,
have excelled in.
As I packed up my stuff to go
home for the day, I remembered what
Amy Howard told me before tryouts:
“All my girliness is at home.”
Well Amy, all MY girliness is go
ing home. Today, I will do my nails,
primp my hair, and watch my eight
minute-abs tape. I will turn on re
runs of “Saved by the Bell” and re
lax. But I will not be playing football.
Let it be said that I support those
women who had the foot-“balls” to
tryout.
Much information still confidential
in civil rights complaint against UO
■A complaint of alleged
discrimination has been filed
against Project Saferide, but
no details have been released
By Emily Gust
Oregon Daily Emerald
A complaint against the University
singling out Project Saferide has been
filed with the Office for Civil Rights
(OCR) — but details about the com
plaint and who filed it are under lock
and key.
The University received a letter
written March 23 by Nicholas Rock,
the OCR investigator handling the
case. The letter said a complaint had
been filed alleging gender discrimi
nation by Saferide because only fe
males are allowed to participate in
and take advantage of the program.
Saferide is recognized by the ASUO,
which means it receives funding
from student incidental fees.
But the University administration
said that’s all it knows.
“We know almost nothing, but
we’re trying to find out,” said Anne
Leavitt, vice president for student af
fairs and dean of students at the Uni
versity. “We’re still out of the loop.”
Roger Murphy, U.S. Department of
Education OCR spokesman, said the
complaint was filed Jan. 31. In accor
dance with the Privacy Act of 1972,
however, the name of the person or
persons who filed the complaint will
never be released.
The actual wording of the complaint
has not been revealed to the adminis
tration, Leavitt said, which makes it
hard for the University to respond.
University General Counsel Melin
da Grier said the administration had
received a phone call from Rock, in
troducing himself and saying that
there was an investigation underway.
Rock said he would be contacting the
University more as the investigation
continues, she said.
Grier said the administration will
cooperate fully—as it always does in
a situation such as this — and pro
vide the investigators with all the in
formation they need.
Until then, Leavitt said, the admin
istration and the others who would
be involved in the action, including
the ASUO and the Office of Affirma
tive Action, will remain irvth'e dark.
“It’s going to be a very interesting
conversation, but I don’t know yet
how it’s going to unfold,” Leavitt said.
Grier pointed out that any move
ments made now are “really prelimi
nary,” and that while an outcome is
possible within a few months, it may
not arrive for up to a year.
“It’s so early right now that it’s real
ly hard at this point to have a sense at
what it’s going to be looking at,” Grier
said.
The way such complaint investi
gations typically play out, Murphy
said, is that the involved parties reach
a resolution. In extreme cases in
which the sides are unable to come to
an agreement, steps can be taken to
stop federal funding to the school.
But Murphy emphasized that hardly
ever happens.
“That’s a very extreme and a very
rare case,” Murphy said. “Very rare.”
Calendar
Tuesday, April 17
Career Center presents: “How to Work
the Fair.” 12:30 p.m. River Room,
EMU. For information, call 346*6020.
Workshop: “Negotiatinga Job Offer.” 2
p.m. River Room, EMU Free. For infor
mation, call346-6020.
Architecture and Allied Arts Faculty
Lecture: Richard Sundt.art history, dis
cusses “Maori vs. Missionaries: Cultur
a! Interference and Compromise in the
Decoration of Traditional Maori
Churches in 19th-Century New
Zealand." Mary Ann Beecher, architec
ture, presents "Stories My ChairTold
Me,” a look at what designed objects
and the built environment reveal
about aspects of American culture. 4
p.m. Room 206, Lawrence Hall. Free.
For information, call 346-2077.
International Film Series: “St. Michael
Had a Rooster" (Italy) tells how Italian
International memberGiulio Maniere,
sentenced to life imprisonment for il
legal activities, holds onto his political
ideals while struggling against insanity
in the loneliness of prison. This is part
of the “You Say You Want a Revolu
tion?” series of fi Ims shown i n thei r
original languages with English subti
tles. 7-9 p.m. Room 122, Pacific Hall.
Free. For information, call 346-4011.
Oregon Daily Emerald
P.O. Box 3159, Eugene OR 97403
The Oregon Daily Emerald is published
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school year and Tuesday and Thursday
during the summer by the Oregon Daily
Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the Uni
versity of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. A
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