THE ongoing US Open in New York reminds us of the story of a man who goes through sex reassignment surgery then attempts to play in the 1976 US Open. She was denied entry due to the women-born policy of the United States Tennis Association (USTA). She disagrees and files a case, which goes all the way to the State Supreme Court of New York which, in 1977, rules in her favor. It was a decision that changed transsexual rights forever.
This is the story of Renee Richards, a successful ophthalmologist, best-selling author and former professional tennis player.
Richards was born Richard Raskind. She is the only professional athlete to have competed in both men’s and women’s professional tennis. Richards played from 1977-1981 and was ranked as high as 19th in the world. In the four years she played tennis, there were players who backed out of tournaments she competed in because they believe they’d be at a strength disadvantage because, physically, she’s still a man. Players dropped out of tournaments she was going to compete in.
She was 6-foot-2and left-handed, making her a bit more difficult to compete against, as in any sport.
The latest high-profile sexual reassignment in sports is Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner who has become Caitlyn Jenner, although she has not indicated that she plans to compete in sports at all as a woman.
Atlhough the ruling of the New York Supreme Court favored Richards, it would be interesting to reflect on how Philippine courts would settle the question: Should a man who underwent sex reassignment surgery be allowed to compete as a woman in women’s sports?
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UFC Women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey continues her war of words against boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighter, Floyd Mayweather Jr. Actually, Mayweather should not even be considered a fighter in the strictest sense since he is a runner and a hugger and a boxer, not a fighter. Mayweather says he fights the way he fights because he “fights smart.” I believe Rousey can rip his arm off with her patented arm bar if they do a no-holds barred fight.
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GENNADY GOLOVKIN will put his alphabet soup belts on the line against formidable challenger International Boxing Federation middleweight champion David Lemieux. The winner will unify the division and become undisputed middleweight champion of the world. Both fighters love to come forward and attack. Both are aggressive, which augurs well for an action-packed fight. Golovkin is undefeated and has a chance to be the undefeated and undisputed middleweight champion of the world. Lemieux has been dominant in the International Boxing Federation middleweight division since 2011.
We see Golovkin knocking out Lemieux in the later rounds. Golovkin’s power is unmatched in the middleweight division.
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THE University Athletic Association of the Philippines season started over the weekend with the Far Eastern University (FEU) confirming pre-season forecast that the Tamarraws are the favorites to win all the men’s basketball marbles. They sent out a message to the rest of the league with an 88-64 methodical and merciless massacre of the Ateneo Blue Eagles. With so much offensive firepower and so many weapons at their disposal, scouting the Tams won’t be easy. Opposing coaches will find it a challenge to come up with a strategy to slow down the juggernaut that is FEU—but the ball is round and anything can happen. After all, the game is still five-on-five and whichever team can play unselfish basketball the right way has a better chance of winning.
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ONE of our regular readers, businessman Albert Garcia, is once again organizing the BRAFE GOLF, an annual golfing tournament which raises much-needed funds to provide scholarships for intelligent but financially challenged students. BRAFE GOLF’s main beneficiary is the Foundation for Sharing a La Sallian Education (FSLE), which was started by the late Bro. Rafael (Rafe) Donato, FSC, after whom the annual golt tournament is named. Bro. Rafe started the foundation together with his high-school classmates Kurt Bachmann, former basketball Olympian and La Salle center of the 1956 NCAA champion aquad, former senator Jun Magsayay and Fred Ong, among others.
The FSLE continues under the supervision of the Donato family. Now on its 10th year, BRAFE GOLF has provided much-needed funds to support the scholarship program.
BRAFE 10 GOLF Tickets are now being sold. Please share this golfing experience with your golfing friends. Tournament is P3,000 for Non-Malarayat members and P2,500 for Malarayat members.
For more details, contact the BRAFE GOLF Secretariat c/o Marites Santos either through telefax, (02) 524-6549/354-2207-09 or 0928-3224217 or through e-mail, brafegolf.secretariat@gmail.com and marites.santos71@gmail.com. Interested parties may also get in tough with Ting Yupangco either at 536 5215 or 0917 5365215 or ting_yupangco@yahoo.com.