It’s kind of old news given that the Indianapolis 500 is over, but I saw an interesting story on Defective Yeti about Danica Patrick, a female racer who ended up finishing up fourth. Or specifically, it’s about the comments of another racer, Robby Gordon, who refused to participate because them dainty chicks have an unfair advantage. Scribbled the quote monkey:
Robby Gordon accused Danica Patrick of having an unfair advantage in the Indianapolis 500 and said Saturday he will not compete in the race again unless the field is equalized.Gordon … contends that Patrick is at an advantage over the rest of the competitors because she only weighs 100 pounds. Because all the cars weigh the same, Patrick’s is lighter on the race track.
“The lighter the car, the faster it goes,” Gordon said. “Do the math. Put her in the car at her weight, then put me or Tony Stewart in the car at 200 pounds and our car is at least 100 pounds heavier. I won’t race against her until the IRL does something to take that advantage away.”
Wait, what? I agree that weighing less gives you an advantage, but so does, you know, being a good racecar driver. Since when did we decide that having greater ability in a sport gives someone an “unfair” advantage? You want ban anyone over 6 feet tall from the NBA? Standardizing the equipment athletes use (e.g., no corked baseball bats or weight requirements for race cars) makes sense, because it places the emphasis where it’s more interesting and dramatic: on the athlete’s ability. Including their weight, height, reach, speed, constitution, et cetera.
What’s interesting is that women and some racial groups (such as Asians and Hispanics) are usually at a disadvantage for physical abilities because they are on average smaller and physically weaker than those big, white males. But here it’s working to Patrick’s advantage and some guy is calling foul and crying into his Budweiser. I don’t know about athletics, but the law is pretty clear on this kind of thing in employment: If the phsysical ability (or just about any ability) is related to the job and predicts performance better than chance alone, then it’s fair (or at least legal) to hire people based on it. It’s just letting people who are the most suited to the job win.
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