Many male tennis players and swimmers start out with fine female coaches, often their mothers. It’s up to the corporate honchos to provide a level playing field for both sexes at work.Ĭoaching, however, is another matter. There’s no law saying you must like sports. So regardless of what you know, you still may not be able to work your way into the group and use it to your corporate advantage. Even if you can hold your own with the water-cooler conversation that begins, “How ’bout those Mets?”, you’re just a reminder of the wife or girlfriend they have at home. For many men, sports are the way they bond with their own sex. Even if, like me, you know a lot about sports and could ace the baseball fantasy league, that doesn’t mean that men are ready to welcome you into the boys’ club. End of that story.īut there are two other stories here about where the genders come together and where they divide. I had an idea for a book series that drew on the depth and breadth of my knowledge and experience, and you know what?, I ran with it. But stupid me, why didn’t I remember my hero Benjamin Disraeli’s famous dictum: “Never complain, never explain”? I don’t owe anyone an explanation.

and now editor of WAG, I’ve always had to be interested in culture with a capital “C,” which goes way beyond the arts and entertainment to include religion, the media, sports, gender, politics – you name it. I then find myself explaining that as a former senior cultural writer for Gannett Inc. At Sarah Lawrence College’s recent “Publish and Promote Your Book Conference,” the reaction to my series “The Games Men Play” included the typical, “So, you’re into sports.” And it’s not said as “So – you’re into sports!” but rather with a quizzical, skeptical tone.

On Grace by Susie Orman Schnall