May 28, 2014 by Sean Childers in Livewire, News with 17 comments
One of the beautiful parts of the pro leagues? The fact that anyone can play, no matter his or her socioeconomic history. One of the darkest, most swept-under-the-rug aspects of Ultimate has always been that to really achieve that elite level, you have to spend the big bucks…So guess who gets automatically prevented from playing the sport before they can even play a single game? Not necessarily the women. The poor people.
Where are the cries of outrage over the economic prejudice Ultimate holds against those less advantaged than ourselves? Is it really USAU supporters versus the pro league supporters? Or is it something deeper and worse?
…I implore you all to consider this: not once have the professional leagues made it hard or impossible for the best players to play the sport. Can we say the same for other powers that be in Ultimate Frisbee? And if we can’t, we do a disservice to the sport and, most importantly, our entire community by hiding behind misguided accusations and inaccurate claims – sweeping the real issues under the rug. It’s time to tear up the rug and install a nice new hardwood floor. It’s time to stop talking about gender equality in Ultimate and just start talking about equality. For everyone.
Those are excerpts from a personal blog post by Alexandra Wittchen, Director of Social Media for the MLU.
