[xibalba]

> ...saying that women aren't at the peak of sports excellence...I don't think the author has watched any women's sports games before writing this piece.

Women are not at the peak of sports excellent in literally any sport in which both men and women compete. This is a statement of fact and does not denigrate the value of women, generally, or women athletes.

I am baffled when people make claims like yours. Have you played sports or followed sports closely? This is not a rhetorical question. I ask because I've had conversations with friends and the common denominator among those who believe that some women's sports are "peak excellence" never played sports and certainly don't follow sports. The on-the-ground reality is that men have massive biologically driven physical advantages over women. A middling men's pro tennis player would destroy the top women's pro tennis player. The US Women's National Soccer Team was defeated by an under-15 boys team. Compare the world records of men's and women's track and field events–they're not even close. Etc.

> ... shouldn't be covered by Nike's clothing range

The author makes no such claim. Rather, the author points out that Nike's pursuit of what it believes to be a huge untapped market ("women") has led it to disavow and even antagonize the masculine culture which pervades high-level sports and which Nike rode to market dominance.

> rage-bait article

To me, this article read as a fairly innocuous and mostly factual take on Nike's marketing. Is it possible you supplied the rage?

[taylodl]

I disagree with your claim that women are not at the peak of sports excellence. Many times women's sports are more fun to watch because women place a greater emphasis on strategy over physical dominance. Even when men and women are playing the same sport, such as basketball, they're employing two very different approaches to game play. It's subjective as to which style of game play you prefer to watch, I like both, for different reasons. Just don't watch a women's game and expect it to be just like the men's game but with female players.

[xibalba]

You're blurring terminology.

Yes, "more fun to watch" is entirely subjective. "Peak excellence" is much less so. It is indisputable, if one is being honest, that for almost all sports, the top woman/women's team would not be even close to competitive were they to compete against men. Thus, it seems incorrect to claim that any woman/women's team is performing at "peak excellence" without the qualifier "amongst women".

Again, none of this means women or women athletes do not deserve to be treated with respect. Nor does it invalidate one's personal preferences on which sports they like to watch.

However, I do think that for most people who regularly watch sports, peak excellence is an important factor for which sports are more fun to watch. This, in turn, explains why patronage of men's professional sports is so much greater than for women's.