A Letter to Bobby Valentine

Dear Bobby V:


Congratulations on the new job. Wow, managing the Boston Red Sox—what a gig!

I couldn’t help but notice that April has been a little rough for you. Like many of us, I’m sure your first days at a new job are filled with jitters. There’s a lot to figure out. You have to learn people’s names, figure out how to work the copier and find the little boy’s room. All of this can be intimidating in a new environment.

But, boy, what an opportunity! After all, you’re replacing Terry Francona, a guy who started out strong for the Red Sox. In 2004, he even brought the city its first World Series title since 1918, that’s a long, long time. And he added another in 2007. But many of us watching the Red Sox last year agree that he went out with a whimper. The late-season collapse, including a stretch where the Red Sox went 7-20 in September, is still a sore subject for many Boston fans. To find out later that Francona had lost control of the team, at least from a disciplinary point of view, brought both laughs and grief. Players eating fried chicken, drinking beer and playing video games in the clubhouse instead of supporting their teammates during games? C’mon. Clearly, it was time for him to go. Anybody is a step up from that. Enter you, Bobby.

Sure, you’ve had a couple of missteps as most people are wont to do during their first days at a new job, but throwing Kevin Youkilis under the bus, in front of the media, what was that all about? Telling the media that Youkilis wasn’t bringing his A-game, and creating a situation where your Red Sox players took an “us vs. you” stance? Ouch! That’s a rough week at the office.

So, you got off to a bumpy start. It happens. I thought you would make it up when your Red Sox faced their hated rival this weekend, the New York Yankees. To add to the festivities—and the pressure—your Red Sox are celebrating Fenway Park’s 100th anniversary this weekend. I know it’s only April, but this series is a must-win for your team.

Game 1 in the series did not go as planned. It was Fenway’s birthday, but the Yankees were the ones celebrating, beating your Red Sox, 6-2, in the opener of a three-game series. OK, so you took it on the chin in Game 1. That’s why they play series, right?

But on Saturday, your Red Sox simply imploded. Seriously. Racing out to a 9-0 lead, your Red Sox got comfortable, so comfortable that when they woke up from their snooze, they were trailing 15-9. To make matters worse, with each of your visits to the mound, in a fruitless effort to stop the bleeding, you were booed mercilessly by your Red Sox faithful.

It’s only April, that’s the good news. Already you have to dig yourself out of a hole with the fans, your players and the AL East standings—that’s the bad news.

Who knows, maybe managing in the bigs has changed since you last held the job. After all, spending a couple of years talking baseball in front of ESPN’s cameras isn’t the same as managing. Of course, I’m not discounting your efforts in Japan, but Major League Baseball is really the standard by which you are measured. Who knows, maybe you’ve lost a step.

That’s not to say that you are to blame for all of your team’s woes. After all, if things were going so well in Boston, you wouldn’t be there in the first place. Terry Francona would still be at the helm.

Before I go, I wanted to let you know that I’m coming to town for Memorial Day, and I was hoping to see a game. I know that’s only a month from now, but I hope to see you still sporting your No. 25 jersey and manning the dugout when I arrive.

Sincerely,


A concerned baseball fan

Title IX: Debunking the Myths

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Title IX. And while many of us are familiar with the legislation through its connection to sports, it may come as a surprise to some that Title IX was created to level the educational playing field at the college level.

Yes, it’s true. The legislation was passed with the intention of preventing sexual discrimination in higher education, says lawyer Judith Lichtman in the 2012 issue of Washington Lawyer. “People often think about Title IX in the athletic opportunity context for women. God knows that’s a very important context, but [while] often less recognized, the importance of Title IX in prohibiting sex discrimination in education was much broader,”

Lichtman, a senior advisor at the National Partnership for Women & Families, has fought to implement Title IX legislation. In the article, she goes on to say that the legislation shaped curricula at colleges and universities across the country, and that it also provided young women with role models in both academics and athletics.

Title IX not only benefits women by providing more opportunities for them to excel in college, it also benefits men. It’s a fact that as women’s athletic opportunities increase, so do the opportunities afforded to men. What’s more, men’s opportunities still outpace women’s, even with Title IX legislation in place.

So while it’s important for young women to have greater athletic opportunities, just like their male counterparts, having an academic setting that includes women is an even greater accomplishment.