Sadly, softball stereotype survives

During a week when Oklahoma City's springtime love affair with softball begins, an old photo of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan has sparked an unexpected debate about sport and sexual orientation.

If you play football, you are dumb.

If you play golf, you are arrogant.

If you play hockey, you are thuggish.

Sounds ridiculous, right?

photo - The Wall Street Journal has been criticized for running this photo of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan on its front page on Tuesday. Kagan's shown in 1993 playing a game of softball at the University of Chicago Law School, where she was an assistant professor. AP ARCHIVE PHOTO

The Wall Street Journal has been criticized for running this photo of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan on its front page on Tuesday. Kagan's shown in 1993 playing a game of softball at the University of Chicago Law School, where she was an assistant professor. AP ARCHIVE PHOTO

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A sport does not a personality trait make. Stereotypes might suggest otherwise, but anyone with any sense sees through the generalizations. They ignore the wackiness. They recognize the reality.

Except where softball is concerned.

If you play softball, you are gay.

That stupid stereotype is alive and well. We learned as much this week, the same week that the Big 12 tournament begins Oklahoma City’s springtime love affair with softball that culminates with the Women’s College World Series. We see the joy, the empowerment, the fun and the excitement in the sport.

Sadly, too many others see something else.

That realization came in an unexpected way. It started with a Supreme Court nomination, a prominent newspaper and a black-and-white photo.

On Monday, President Barack Obama announced Elena Kagan would be his nominee to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court. The next day, she was front and center in every major national media outlet, including the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper had a full page inside dedicated to Kagan’s nomination, and on the cover, it ran an old photo of her.

The picture was snapped during her days as an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Law School. It was taken during a faculty outing.

A softball game.

The photo quickly sparked a raging online debate about Kagan’s sexuality.

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