They’re women, not girls
Madison West High School has a “girls'” basketball team. The University of Wisconsin has a “women’s” basketball team. It’s not much of a surprise when Joe Sixpack fails to honor this distinction. It’s mildly disconcerting, however, when the high-salaried athletic director of a major university fails to do so.
In a recent State Journal article concerning UW-Madison women’s basketball coach Lisa Stone’s one-year contract extension, Barry Alvarez is quoted referring to the “girls” who played for her this past season. A careless mistake, or does his gaffe beg a more complex character analysis?
Either way, I suspect many of UW’s female student-athletes would appreciate the dignity of being referred to as the women they are, rather than as the girls they are not.
— Ray Johnson, Evansville