2008 Woodie Awards
Lady Tigers to remove 'Lady'
By: Sarah Bleau
Issue date: 11/4/08 Section: Sports
Melissa McFerrin has big goals for her team this season. The University of Memphis women's basketball coach wants to make a number of changes, ranging from winning NCAA titles to rebuilding the team.
And there's one more.
She wants people to leave out "Lady" in "Lady Tigers" when referring to her team.
"It's not an attempt to quash any sort of term," she said. "It's really just to identify ourselves as The University of Memphis."
Men's basketball coach John Calipari supports her move, and in the spirit of election season, said, "Melissa...I say she's a little Sarah Palin-ish, and I mean that in a very positive way.
"She understands what she wants, and she has a great vision of what she wants. She's not afraid to reach out and ask. She has strong convictions and opinions," he said. "It's what she wants, and she wants the program to be thought of as one of the best."
While the men's basketball team is showing support, some bloggers, in response to McFerrin's idea, showed they weren't crazy about the idea. Some said they need to earn it before they eliminate "Lady" from their name.
"I think it should be taken out too...IF they can prove that they can win," one blogger wrote. "They have had 30 wins in the last four years, which is how many regular season wins the men had LAST year. You have to earn what you want."
Removing "Lady" from the women's basketball team's name also removes the sexism resulting from that nickname, said Sally Ross, assistant professor for sports and leisure.
"By adding 'Lady,' it's making the women's team less authentic, and so you're normalizing men in sport, but you're putting a qualifier on women in sport," Ross said. "It's like they're sort of secondary or an afterthought."
McFerrin's choice in the word-removal is a step in the right direction for women's athletics and against sexism, Ross said.
"I think this is something very courageous, and I'm sad that it has to be something that has to be courageous for a women's coach to say, 'I'd like to get rid of Lady from the Tigers,'" she said.
And there's one more.
She wants people to leave out "Lady" in "Lady Tigers" when referring to her team.
"It's not an attempt to quash any sort of term," she said. "It's really just to identify ourselves as The University of Memphis."
Men's basketball coach John Calipari supports her move, and in the spirit of election season, said, "Melissa...I say she's a little Sarah Palin-ish, and I mean that in a very positive way.
"She understands what she wants, and she has a great vision of what she wants. She's not afraid to reach out and ask. She has strong convictions and opinions," he said. "It's what she wants, and she wants the program to be thought of as one of the best."
While the men's basketball team is showing support, some bloggers, in response to McFerrin's idea, showed they weren't crazy about the idea. Some said they need to earn it before they eliminate "Lady" from their name.
"I think it should be taken out too...IF they can prove that they can win," one blogger wrote. "They have had 30 wins in the last four years, which is how many regular season wins the men had LAST year. You have to earn what you want."
Removing "Lady" from the women's basketball team's name also removes the sexism resulting from that nickname, said Sally Ross, assistant professor for sports and leisure.
"By adding 'Lady,' it's making the women's team less authentic, and so you're normalizing men in sport, but you're putting a qualifier on women in sport," Ross said. "It's like they're sort of secondary or an afterthought."
McFerrin's choice in the word-removal is a step in the right direction for women's athletics and against sexism, Ross said.
"I think this is something very courageous, and I'm sad that it has to be something that has to be courageous for a women's coach to say, 'I'd like to get rid of Lady from the Tigers,'" she said.