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Professional sport is big business. Like/most similar enterprises it suffers growing pains. 'lhese care and go in a continualprocessicn, but most of them are ‘ ‘ eventually solved. Other difficulties, however, are more permanent. (he such issxe is sexism. By. repeatedly raising its ugly head it creates situations that are often unjust and scnetimes even funny. The results are usually embarrassing, and rarely are they sufficiently Worked out.

Sexism in sport, as everywhere else, revolves around equal rights. Media coverage and prize money vastly favor males. 'lhis. is especially evident in tennis and golf where male and female tours exist side by side. Everyone hears about Jack NiCk13na and Tom Watson, but few of us even know the names of female stars. The likes of Billy Jean King regularly lament their smaller stakes. Ch the surface at least, their argument holds weight. The inequality is rationalized aviay though, on the grounds that the men have, more talent and that they Is this good reasoning? It's debatable. _

One might have the sexes compete together. Yet even then problems would ‘Ihe women might continue to win the ' smaller portion 'of , the prize money. ‘Ib make matters worse, defeat by the opposite sex would ’ crush many male egos.

In professional sports , where women take less active roles, sexism also comes into play. Even if we ignore the lack of female participants, base- ball, football, hockey and basketball are all guilty. One publicized example occurred during the last World Series. The New York Yankees allowed only male reporters and broadcasters into the dressing room. Nothing, of course, is unusual about that. The frand’lises in all major spbrts do the sane. rIhis time, however, the women retaliated. belissa Ludtke, a female reporter for Sports Illustrated magazine, was the offended party. She and Time Incorporated then filed suit in

American federal court against the Yankees and against the American ' ‘ Baseball league. Her claim was that it was unfair discrimination for her to be banned from theteam's clubhouse solely because of her sex. 'Ihe injustice, she argues, "deprived her of covering the sport in the same way as he male colleagues." What she said is certainly true. She was deprived, it was discrimination, and it was unfair. Athletes, though, also have certain rights. 'Ihose of them wanting the privacy deserve to have it. Here too, a possible solution comes to mind.

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All reporters might be banned from the playerS' quarte‘ rs. ever ,would be rather unprecedented and even more unpopular. Thus it

isn't likely to happen.

It is just unfortunate , that "the present situation pits the rights of athletes against those of female reporters. One grmp can't be satisfied

without angering the other. V

'Ihat is what you call a trickt situation. '

Same cases of sexism border on the Tne prdolems of Renee

.Richards are one example.

Now, although Richards

can play, her opponents sometimes won't- First

That move, how-g

Helle Viragh of'Denmark refused to finish a match against her. flush Beth Norton of Fairfield,

Connecticut , pulled file

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same trick, giving no reason except that "it

,hadtobedone". Her.

father, however, declared. ‘it against his daughter's "religious and moral convictions? to play clear. knee just isn't accepted. . - . What is the, answer? There may not\be Sexism has always existed and probably always will. It will remain' an issue in professional sports, just as it will in almost ‘ everything else. , '

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