Yesterday as the Arizona Cardinals prepared for their overseas matchup against the L.A. Rams in London, there was a rare (for the NFL especially) sighting on the field—Supergirl…sort of.
It turns out that as the result of a bet, one of Arizona’s quarterbacks dressed up as Supergirl for warmups.
I can only assume that the quarterback in question won the bet, otherwise, I’d like someone from the team to explain to me what is humiliating about dressing up as a kickass, self-aware, empowered young woman. Don’t worry, I’ll wait…
I won’t do Supergirl or her fans the dishonor of sharing the pictures in this post. They’re (tragically) very easy to find. Just head on over to the NFL’s Twitter account. They got a real kick out of it.
I’m not unaware that we’re living in a world where some out there will say I’m being too politically correct and tell me to lighten up. I can take a joke as much as the next person, but this move and the subsequent promotion of it was thoughtless and completely in-character for the NFL…and that’s a problem.
To be clear, I don’t think the players thought this was condescending to women (or perhaps I just hope it). I can’t believe that the men involved in the bet even considered how this would be perceived by women, and I’m sure they didn’t imagine how insulting it would be — and no, that doesn’t make it any less upsetting.
The good news is redemption lies with the very woman scorned. Her story may be fictitious, but the lessons of Supergirl are very real indeed. Like her cousin, she holds the power to crush us mere mortals, and also the wisdom and strength to show restraint and mercy. So, as tempting as it is, the answer is not to throw rage at the offenders.
Instead, continue to speak out against this kind of behavior that demeans strong, powerful women. Because being informed is ignorance’s kryptonite.
So keep at it you super girls and super women. Together we’ll soar.
…bi-daily smile…
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