ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 16, 1996 TAG: 9612160021
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: A Cuppa Joe
SOURCE: JOE JENNEDY
Orthopedic surgeon S. Ross Mackay is not from Mars, but some of his opinions are.
Women should not participate in "heavy competitive athletics," the Montgomery County physician says. They should not train for police work or military combat.
Instead, "the ladies can continue to expand their influence in the arts and sciences, which cover almost every activity known to man except those requiring testosterone."
This will offend "extreme feminists, some of whom are destroying athletic departments by demanding equal budgets" for women's sports, he says.
But women "should avoid expansions contrary to nature."
Mackay (pronounced Mac-kye) unsheathed these views in a letter to the editor published in the November issue of "Orthopedics Today," a medical monthly. He wrote in response to articles examining research into the higher injury rates among female athletes, especially to their lower extremities.
Where some saw a need for more research, better training and improved equipment for women athletes, Mackay questioned the very participation of women in sports. Intensive athletic training can cause menstrual irregularities and osteoporosis, he said; it's up to the bone boys to alert "politicians, school boards and parents of the dangers when physical aggressiveness is provoked in women."
Steffi Graf, turn in your racket! Flo-Jo, give back those trophies! You women are setting a terrible example for your sisters, and you will be held accountable!
"Is Dr. Mackay in the same society in the same time frame as the rest of us?" asked John B. McGinty, the medical editor at "Orthopedics Today," in a response printed alongside Mackay's contribution.
Women have achieved great things in many areas formerly dominated by men, including team and individual sports, McGinty noted. It would be ludicrous to suggest they give them up because they lack testosterone.
That brought another letter from Mackay in which, among other things, he asserted that women's courage and stamina in "their unheralded natural roles will forever surpass their muscle-bound counterparts."
Mackay is a naturalized citizen from Great Britain and a World War II veteran of the Royal Air Force. He is not the first physician to cause a furor by mixing politics with medicine. I hoped he would be willing to discuss his views in detail, but when I called him, he was surprised and hesitant.
"It's a controversial subject," he said. "I'd want to approve anything you might want to publish" - which we don't allow. "I don't want people calling me up - angry people."
Tentatively, he agreed to meet with me the following Tuesday at 1 p.m. But later that evening, he canceled the appointment in a voice mail message.
"I really don't want to pursue it any further," he said. "It's something better left on a professional basis right now."
I don't know what that means. Nor could I find out. Mackay did not respond to messages I left at his office and his home.
I feel for the guy. I'm sure he's a good doctor, but he's living in a world where the women are strong and communication technology - copiers, fax machines, the Web - is fleet. Our words turn up in places where we never imagined they would. Even in my grubby mitts.
Fortunately for him, his follow-up letter to McGinty probably won't be printed, said Kathleen Crozier, the managing editor of "Orthopedics Today."
"Too weird," she said.
What's your story? Give me a call at 981-3256 or send a letter to P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke 24010-2491. Or e-mail me at kenn@roanoke.infi.net.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 linesby CNB