NPR Article Citing Taller Discrimination In Sports

On August 15th, 2007, Frank Deford, a contributor to Morning Editon on National Public Radio and an acclaimed sportwriter, wrote the following piece:

Click Here.

After reading this article, I was confused. Let me first begin at the end of the article. Mr. Deford claims that, apparently, it is their (their being the taller..he is 6'4") ordained right to rule and they are so good at it. This came on the heels of his complaining that the shorter guys are ruling and that there is "gross discrimination" against the taller in sports among the coaching ranks.. What?

I am willing to bet that guys who are shorter coaches, like Lawrence Frank, coach of the Nets, probably had to work a lot harder than a taller coach just to get where he is. Perhaps Mr.Deford should be giving them credit instead of crying foul that a taller coach isn't in that positon. Perhaps that sense of entitlement mentality that Mr. Deford is exhibiting is widespread among the taller and that may make them more lackadasical in their approach. Could you imagine if he had stated that "white men should rule because it is their ordained right to do so."? What a statement of lunacy! People should rule as a reward for their hard work not by their appearance.

Now, let's address the "gross discrimination" issue. Can Mr. Deford honestly claim that their is discrimnation against the tall in sports. You have to be kidding! How many short guys are given a chance in the four major sports? You can probably count them on your ten fingers! Any QBs under 6'0"? If you are under that size in any one of the major sports, you are "undersized" or "small". Mr. Deford is right, there is "gross discrimination" in sports but not against the taller...please!

He states, earlier in his rant that because we are shorter, we are losing to other countries in basketball, then later says that the guards are as tall as the centers were twenty years ago. So, which is it Mr. Deford, are we getting taller or shorter, I am confused? I am quite certain that our last Olympic team was the tallest team of any in the Olympics. Yet, the gold medalists were from Argentina, are they taller than we? Once again, Mr. Deford doesn't point to the real problem.
These guys now don't work as hard as the "Dream Team" of 1992. They have a sense of entitlement and think it's their right to be there. That is the problem with many of these pro athletes nowadays. Of course the shorter ones can't act that way, they have to work their asses off to prove themselves every day or they will lose their position to a taller, lazier individual.

- Chris Hamre

Strength

Several months ago, I stumbled upon a blog which was criticizing our organization for discussing the issue of heightism. The poster accused us of being "wimps" and said that we all needed to have "our asses kicked". Apparently, this individual felt that only a wimp would complain about being picked on because of their height and he was tired of hearing about it.

I see it very differently. For me, only a man or woman of great bravery and strength would be capable of standing up before the world and declaring heightism to be wrong and demanding something be done about it. A coward is one who is too afraid to stand up against considerable opposition. This poster knows heightism is wrong. He knows that it hurts good people. Yet he favors an approach that emphasizes keeping your mouth shut and taking it "like a man". An easy way out that hurts only the one who refuses to do anything.

Instead, we at NOSSA choose to continue to stand up for short statured people, wherever and whenever they are faced with heightism. And in doing so, we will clearly show the measure of our bravery and strength.

Our latest podcast will address the issue of bullying. We will be talking with Guests: Chris Hamre & Steve Goldsmith. To listen go to: Standing Tall Against Discrimination!

Words Worth Repeating

I come across many excellent posts by members of our message forums at http://heightism.aimoo.com Recently, I came across this message on the website. I couldn't help but smile when I read it. I think this member's words are worth repeating. And to this member I say, Thank You!

"I feel the same way at times in public places,...I almost feel like people are staring or something,...but it doesn't bother me really I just go about my day and keep my head up. You never know though sometimes you might get stares because somebody thinks your attractive. It's happened more times than I can count and I would never have noticed unless someone of the opposite sex brought it to my attention. Sometimes it's all in our heads and other times people are really being bigots. I kinda like being the shortest guy in public or social situations because it makes me stand out and be unique. We gotta be positive guys sometimes people get bored with all same flavors of ice cream,....well the same can be true with relationships and social settings. I believe it's a virtuous thing to be a black sheep and proud that I'm not like anyone else. I would really love all the people that are taller than us to try to be unique and original,.....that might actually take some effort,.....and it would probabably involve taking those silver spoons out of there mouths just because they are taller,....but hey if they want to be bigots than forget them because wars are won by winning one battle at a time and we are a growing force and others who are like us and others who aren't are beginning to support us and recongnize that we are not that different and we deserve to be treated as equals. This war against heightism will be won one battle and one mind at a time but it will be won and our number will eventually multiply expotentially."

Zazzle.com Offers Heightist T-Shirt For Sale.

The website Zazzle.com is offering a heightist T-shirt for sale. The shirt, created by Angela from Sarasota, Florida reads, "Short Men Suck" To view the website click here. NOSSA has made contact with Zazzle.com and hopes that the site's owners will remove the offensive shirt from their website. Until such time as that is done, NOSSA encourages everyone to contact the website directly and express their disgust.

The Insults Are Acceptable?

Our organization, the National Organization of Short Statured Adults, wishes to make a formal statement with regards to an insult made by Mr. Barry Bonds. directed at Bob Costas. After viewing an episode of "Costas Now" on Wednesday (07/25), Mr Bonds responded to remarks made by Curt Schilling and Patrick Arnold, as well as Mr Costas, by referring to Mr Costas as a "little midget man who knows nothing about baseball."

While Mr Costas apparently didn't take too much offense by it but responded to Mr Bonds in kind, NOSSA finds the comment made by Mr. Bonds inappropriate and offensive. We at NOSSA are fed up with the public insults and in our quest for equaity demand an apology from Mr. Bonds at the minumum. Insulting another minority would at least warrant an apology, if not a suspension. They wouldn't have to put up with it, so why should we?

Respectfully,

Christopher A. Hamre
Vice President
NOSSA

Comment by Chairman Campisi:

It seems perfectly acceptable in our society to disrespect people because they are shorter than others. You are absolutely right Chris. Had this athlete made a similar comment about a man's race, religion, or even sexuality, there likely would have been fierce outrage and public condemnation of the remarks. Heightism remains the ignored prejudice.

`Little runt' grew up to become a champion

When Fremont Coach Bobby Soto saw Boris Novachkov for the first time in 2003, the Bulgarian native weighed 85 pounds dripping wet.
But Soto could see that the slender youngster was one of the most naturally gifted wrestlers he had ever encountered.

Four years and 40 pounds later, Novachkov is graduating from Fremont High as the most decorated wrestler in school history, with two state championships under his belt and a scholarship to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo in hand.

"He was a little runt when he first came to the room," Soto said with a laugh. "We joked that I used to be able to control him with my index finger. Now I have to give everything I have and use my whole body."

Novachkov was a national freestyle champion in Bulgaria before moving to Sunnyvale in 2003 with his parents and older brother Filip, the 2005 Mercury News wrestler of the year who won a state title in 2006 and is on scholarship at Cal-Poly SLO.

But as a freshman, Boris was too light and didn't earn a spot on the varsity because Filip wrestled at 103 pounds.

"We teased him, saying he went from Bulgarian national champion to a junior-varsity league champion when he came to America," said Soto, who coaches Fremont with Erik Duus.

But the teasing didn't last long. In summer 2005, Boris won national junior titles in freestyle and Greco-Roman.

"It was a little frustrating not being able to compete as a freshman, and everyone joked with me about it," Novachkov said.

"But when I won those national titles, I knew my time would come."
He followed that by cruising to the CIF state title at 103 pounds, the same year Filip won at 119 and teammate Greg Crane won at 160.

"That was my best memory - it was special because we all won it together," Boris said.

When Novachkov moved up three weight classes to 125 pounds for his senior season, some thought he wouldn't have the strength to compete there. But he dispelled those notions in December by winning the Walsh Ironman Invitational in Ohio, considered one of the toughest tournaments in the nation.

"I want to win at everything I do, whether I'm running or wrestling or playing any sport," Novachkov said. "I just don't like the feeling of losing."

He defeated Los Gatos' Naveed Bagheri 8-1 for his second consecutive Central Coast Section title, then rolled through the competition at the state meet, beating Freedom's David Prado 7-1 to win the title.

"Boris' balance is amazing, and he knows how to use hips so well, he is never in a bad position," Bagheri said. "I learned something and came out better for it every time I wrestled him."

Now Novachkov is embarking on a new phase of his wrestling career, and many think the sky is the limit.

"Boris wins because of his mentality - he has goals that are far beyond those of regular high school kids," Soto said. "He has Olympic aspirations - he is looking at the highest accomplishment you can make in wrestling."

First he will work toward his goal of winning at Cal Poly.

"Boris is so technically advanced, nobody can really do anything against him," Cal Poly Coach John Azevedo said. "He'll need to get used to the physical nature of college wrestling, but I think both he and Filip can become NCAA champions. They are going to make an impact"

Will Joining NOSSA Make It Worse?

NOSSA does not believe that short statured people should stay silent about heightism. How can we expect anything to change if we don't make people aware that there is a problem? We may be laughed at and ridiculed for discussing heightism. It takes guts to stand up for yourself and others. This is not for the faint of heart. But we believe that this is a cause worth fighting for. We at NOSSA believe that you will discover much about yourself in this journey and the difference you make will inspire others. You just might find that you've made a lasting positive impact on the world. http://www.nossaonline.org/joinus.html

Please Support NOSSA With Your Online Purchases

Help NOSSA by purchasing items at http://www.yellowbrickmall.com:80/nossa.php

NOSSA To Launch United Kingdom Chapter

The National Organization Of Short Statured Adults will soon launch the United Kingdom chapter. Residents of the United Kingdom can now join a UK specific chapter that will be committed to the needs of short statured adults living and working in the UK. The chapter is expected to launch soon and the official website will be located at www.nossaonline.co.uk

Podcast Episode 6 Released

Episode 6 Heightism - NOSSA Vice-President Chris Hamre shares his thoughts on the latest news from the organization. Release date - 06/04/2007. Guests: Chris Hamre. Listen at http://mattfromnossa.libsyn.com

Mass Height/Weight Bill Gains Public Attention

BOSTON - Ellen Frankel stands just 4-foot-8½ inches tall, a size that allowed larger co-workers to playfully scoop her up at the office and make remarks about her height. Some even patted her on the head.

Lawmakers are considering complaints such as hers as they review a bill that would make Massachusetts just the second state to bar discrimination based on height or weight.

"People in authority will very easily make comments about height that they wouldn't make about race or gender," said Frankel, a Marblehead author.

Jeanne Toombs understands the frustration. She says overweight people routinely are discriminated against because of their size.

"It's not fair. No matter what you think of fat people, they deserve to be treated like human beings," said Toombs, 59, a piano teacher who weighs 300 pounds and is on the board of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.

The proposed law does not define short or fat. It would apply mainly to the workplace but also to landlords and real estate transactions.

Laws in other states
Most states have laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, religion, age, gender and disability. A handful offer protection for gays and lesbians. But only Michigan includes weight and height in its anti-discrimination law.

The District of Columbia also bans discrimination based on appearance, and San Francisco and Santa Cruz, Calif., prohibit weight and height discrimination.

Rep. Byron Rushing, a Boston Democrat who is sponsoring the Massachusetts bill, said the issue is a question of civil rights.

"This is one of the last physical aspects of people that you can acceptably laugh about," said Rushing, who is black, slim and of average height. "You can be a shock jock on the radio and talk about fat people for a solid week and no one would ever think of having you lose your job. It's still acceptable."

Republican analyst Todd Domke is concerned that lawmakers will scare off businesses if they expand protection to include short and overweight workers.

"We might as well add colorblind, left-handed, allergic-to-cashews, and get it over with," Domke said.

Disability argument
Under current state law, people claiming discrimination in the workplace or for housing must prove in court that their weight problem is a disability. But Massachusetts courts usually reject such arguments.

"People can lose weight," said David Yas, publisher of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. "As that line of argument goes, why receive special treatment? There is some of that attitude in the courts, that this should not rise to the level of race and gender, the rights of which are so important to protect."

Rushing proposed a similar bill 10 years ago, but he's more confident of passage now because of an increased awareness of the issues. He expects a hearing this fall.

"Fatter people and shorter people get promoted less. Shorter people make less than their taller counterparts," said Frankel, who published a memoir last fall titled "Beyond Measure."

Toombs does not buy the argument she can simply diet and lose weight.

"I spent 25 years of my life trying to get thin," she said. "All I ever got was fatter, and I felt like a failure. I thought it was my fault, and it wasn't. People come in different sizes, they always have and they always will.

"I haven't robbed a bank. I work with children. I'm doing good in the world."

Power in numbers

Women have NOW. African-Americans have the NAACP. Gays have GLAAD. Even animals have groups looking out for their needs PETA. So who is looking out for the specific needs of short statured people? If you are a little person (you have a medical or genetic condition that usually results in an adult height of 4'10" or shorter) you can turn to LPA. But what if you are taller but still considered short? What about the heightism that you experience each and every day? Well now you have a group ready and willing to speak up for you. The group is called NOSSA - National Organization Of Short Statured Adults. There is power in numbers and we can bring much needed support and attention to the needs of the short statured man or woman. Please join us today! Visit our official website at www.nossaonline.org for more information. Together we will make a difference.

NOSSA Commends Mass. Rep.Byron Rushing

NOSSA has announced Massachusetts State Representative Byron Rushing as the 2007 Activist of the year. Representative Rushing is commended for his drafting of the recent legislation H.3752, a bill which would make it illegal in the state to discriminate against a person based on height or weight. The previous 2006 activist of the year was Steven Goldsmith for his www.shortsupport.org website.

Ellen Frankel To Appear On CBS Early Show

Ellen Frankel LCSW will appear on CBS the Early Show tomorrow morning April 4, 2007 around 8:00 am...It's on heightism and the Hgh issue. Tune in!

Contact Info for EHarmony.com

Contact information for E-Harmony.com:

eHarmony Relationship Site
300 N Lake Ave Ste 1111
Pasadena, CA 91101

626-795-4814, Fax: 626-585-4040

email: suebraden@eharmony.com

Thank You & Welcome To Our New Members!

I just wanted to thank everyone who has sent us warm wishes and positive feedback regarding our recent appearance on CNN with Paula Zahn. We really appreciate it. We welcome all of the new members to NOSSA. Our work is not done. We have only begun....
- Respectfully, Matthew Campisi.

In our opinion - E-Harmony.com Discriminates Against Short Men

We are in receipt of numerous complaints about the dating website - Eharmony.com:

Eharmony most definitely discriminates against shorter men. I applied
ages ago and was told I'm part of the 20 percent they can't match.
Out of curiousity, I decided to try signing up for the site with the same answers,
and different heights. I went once with my real height and my real answers, and got
the same message(despite personal growth in the last year or two, I my legs have
stayed the same). However, with the exact same answers, I set the height as 5'11"
and was immediately welcomed to the site. I think this is very clear proof the site discriminates against short men before they even join, and personally I think there should be legal action taken to bring
this to light. This would NEVER be allowed if a site discriminated on race or
religion, but this has somehow been accepted? I don't think this should be allowed
to continue.

We urge all short statured people to boycott this website until the company ceases this behavior and issues NOSSA a full apology.

NOSSA President To Appear On CNN

NOSSA's President and Chairman of The Board Matthew Campisi and NOSSA Advisor and Author Ellen Frankel will appear on CNN with Paula Zahn in the near future. Check back often for the exact date and time that this episode will air.

Size Counts

by MATTHEW HAYS
When Montreal filmmaker Howard Goldberg set out to make Short and Male, a documentary about attitudes towards men under a certain height, he expected to learn that there are indeed some cultural prejudices around.

But as Goldberg proceeded with his research, he was taken aback to learn that many social scientists and economists have found solid reasons to believe there are deeply-rooted negative biases against the short. Economists, including the late John Kenneth Galbraith, have chimed in on the issue, with the unusually tall Galbraith suggesting that height is one of the few remaining acceptable prejudices. Goldberg learned that height can be an indicator of economic status—indeed, with some studies suggesting that being short has as big an impact as being a member of a racial minority or being a woman.


But Goldberg’s biggest jolt came when he looked into the case of China . In China , discrimination against the short isn’t mere speculation or suspicion—it’s actually written into law. In order to get a driver’s license, you must be of a certain height. You can’t be a judge or a lawyer if you’re under a certain height, and the same goes for getting a coveted post in the civil service. These restrictions are all written into law and continue to be followed carefully by Chinese authorities.


Western standards


Goldberg, who just returned from a two-week shoot in China , says these restrictions have been in place for a long time. But he adds that issues surrounding height are becoming much more complex now that China is going through a phase of massive change and evolving into a modern state.

“What’s most shocking to me is the way the Chinese are taking in Western cultural images. There are huge billboards there, advertisements for things that the new market is offering them. But 90 per cent of the models are not Asian—they’re white and associated with the West. And since the Chinese on average are shorter than their Western counterparts, height has become associated with success, power and economic well-being.”

And Goldberg says he noticed the economic rift between rural and urban first hand. Standing at 5’3”, Goldberg says he was surrounded by people about his height or shorter when he was in the countryside. “The peasants, the farm workers, were shorter. But when I was in the city, I was short again, by comparison. The people in the cities were much taller.”

Economic growth

One of the results, in a new, mean, capitalist China , has been the emergence of a cottage industry of get-tall-quick schemes. As well as elevator shoes (and there are shops that sell nothing but), there were also shoes with magnets in them, herbal remedies and even height-enhancing pills. All of these were sold by merchants who promised results. The government cracked down on the magnets and pills, recognizing their snake-oil status immediately.

But China has become a leader in surgery that allows people to add two or three inches to their height. Goldberg describes the procedure as “excruciating,” and while he interviewed people who were having the process done, such is the extent of shame surrounding being short in China that no one involved would have their face shown on camera.

The surgical procedure goes something like this: the patient’s shins are broken. Then, they are allowed to almost heal. Then they are broken all over again, with the legs stretched ever so slightly. Then the healing is almost done, and the breaking and stretching happens again. Repeat until you’ve added a couple of inches. The procedure takes months and is brutally painful, but people who are desperate to lengthen their prospects sign up for it. “The procedure is really quite amazing,” notes Goldberg, “in that when you heal, your legs are in good shape. You can run, play soccer, do anything you would otherwise.”

Goldberg’s film is taking him across Europe and North America too, and he cautions that though the Chinese laws against the short may seem extreme, anti-short attitudes pervade many cultures. “I have been quite surprised by a lot of the data I’ve come across, and a lot of the stories that people have shared on Web sites. For men, being short is much like being overweight is for women. There remains an acceptable prejudice against shorter people.”

Short and Male, which is produced by Ina Fichman of Instinct Films, will air on CTV in the fall.

Sign The Heightism Petition!

http://www.petitiononline.com/nossa/petition.html