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TO THE EDITOR:
I agree with John Draper’s April 11 editorial on women in sports because my mother played varsity basketball for Rock Valley, Iowa high school in the late 1940’s.
The experience of taking the bull by the horns to accomplish something is a good trait for learning to stand up for what is right in the world. Any trait can be used for good or bad, but it is our own responsibility to do good and what is right. A few years after she graduated from high school my Mom as a bank teller in Scottsdale, Ariz., stood up to a bank robber by confidently telling him she did not think he was the type to do that till he walked out of the bank. She was soon first teller.
Later when she would take us kids shopping with three of her own kids and one black foster child, people who do not know the facts sometimes misjudge. Some thought that three of us were triplets, and as the oldest and a bit short I was not always flattered by that. But when some misjudged that Mom had a black child from cheating on Dad, she had the self confidence to continue on without letting them fluster her.
In those days in women’s basketball you either played offence of defense. She played defense. In her life she would not start a fight, but if you ever crossed her, you would regret it because she could confidently play defense.
I also agree that transgender people should not be allowed to play on the other team. Sports are differentiated by gender because a biological man is stronger. Caitlin Clark could score more than any boy because it is not a power trait.
Roger Elgersma
Pipestone
