When Branch Rickey poured through the prospects in the Negro Leagues in 1947 to find a possible sacrificial lamb with which to desegregate baseball, he came up with Jackie Robinson. We all know that story. Every stadium in baseball has his number retired. There is a reason for that. Although Rickey forged the signing, he didn’t force Robinson to break those color lines. It was Robinson’s choice, and it took an indescribable courage to carry it through.
When most sports fans read this, they’ll laugh at me for mentioning the name Michelle Wie in the same breath as Jackie Robinson. I don’t blame you. The fact that she is trying so desperately to break that cutline in a PGA tour event is a hangnail compared to the weight of Robinson’s story. These days, inequalities are taboo. They still exist, of course, but in a politically correct (God, I loathe that term and anyone who follows it) society, the fact that Wie is attempting to play with the men is just par for the course. Pardon the pun.
What makes Wie’s attempt alluring, to me, is the fact that she is a 16-year old, and she’s trying to break barriers and bring her sport, which garners about as much attention in the sports world as my articles on The Sports Blog do in comparison with ESPN, closer to credibility in the eyes of men. Let’s face it, that’s what she’s trying to accomplish. What, besides making men stand up and notice, will Wie’s making a cut do for women? Does it just open the door for all women playing in men’s tournaments on the PGA Tour? Does that in turn, open LPGA events up to men? What exactly is she trying to accomplish?
See, I don’t think Wie has any of that in mind. I think she is a 16-year old kid with enormous talent, and she wants to explore the far reaches of that talent. Not for women’s lib. Not for the degenderization of sport. The problem is that she isn’t ready for the heat that comes with what in her mind is simple competition at a level she isn’t skilled enough to compete at yet. But, inevitably, in a society too pompous and pretentious to get out of its own way, where a girl like Michelle will be used by women’s groups for their political purposes, her efforts are construed as something different.
Currently, Wie is getting slaughtered at the Sony Open in Hawaii, tied for last place after the 1st round and decidedly flustered in her press conferences. There will be a day when she makes a cut. There may even be a day when she gets a top 10 finish in a PGA event, no matter how unlikely. However, at 16, she should probably take the time to work on her own tour, which she hasn’t even mastered yet. Break down Sorenstam and Creamer, then go after the Tiger and Phil. At 16, you have plenty of time.