Girls Lax Must Lose Its Whistle

Lacrosse may be lacrosse to a typical sports fan, but there are many discernable differences between the boys and girls games. In fact, boys and girls lacrosse are so different from each other that it's virtually two different games with the only similarities being the ball, net and sticks.

While almost anything goes in the boys game when it comes to physical contact, the girls game allows no physical contact. In fact, the girls game goes too far in limiting physical contact and under the arbitrary eye of certain referees who are whistle happy, a girls lacrosse game could end up lasting forever.

Take the Staples High girls lacrosse team in its home game against Fairfield Warde last week as an example. In that game, the referee blew the whistle constantly and a Wrecker boys player said to his mother during the game that he'd like to take the referee's quick whistle from him.

It goes without saying that tackling isn't allowed in the girls game. Because they don't wear the equipment that their male counterparts do, it may be a good thing. However, tackling is not the only prohibition in girls lacrosse and some of the no-contact rules borders on absolute silliness.

Some of these rules include empty sticks, which prohibits

checking an opponent without the ball. A holding infraction is called when a stick touches an opposing stick for more than one second.

The most famous and ridiculous rule in girls lacrosse is shooting space. When an attacker goes in for a shot in girls lacrosse, the defender must give her shooting space. If the offensive player doesn't have sufficient shooting space, a foul is called and that player has a free shot. This is absurd because it makes it almost impossible for a defender to play defense and do everything possible to stop the attacker from getting in position, which is what a defensive player is supposed to do.

Another penalty called in girls lacrosse is the three-second rule, which prohibits the defender from staying in the 8-meter defensive box for more than three seconds when an offensive player isn't there. This is similar to the defensive three-second violation in the NBA and this rule should also be done away with because a defender should stay in the box and be ready to defend against a potential breakaway. This makes it difficult for the defenders to defend against the cutters. Long stick defenders in boys lacrosse are in the box most of the game.

These rules take out all contact in girls lacrosse and it now has less contact than soccer, basketball, field hockey and ice hockey. In those sports, players can usually breath on another player without the whistle blowing. Increasing the absurdity of the rules, there's more contact in track in which runners get tangled up at the start and turns and that shouldn't be the case, especially with lacrosse supposed to being a contact sport. It's time these rules are done away with.