Let her dunk!

Tennessee's Candace Parker dunked again Wednesday night, but for the first time, she was called for a technical foul.

From espn.com:

Parker had her fifth career dunk and third this season with 12:56 left in the first half against West Virginia on Wednesday night. She stole the ball at one end and jammed it in with one hand at the end of a fast break. This time, Parker's dunk was more emphatic with the rim making a louder thud, and she finished by popping her jersey. The officials immediately conferred with each other and called a technical foul.

Parker has dunked 5 times in her career, including twice in one game, a first for a woman player.

Male players can basically hang from the rim, under the guise of steadying themselves before they let go, thump their chest etc. but with this kind of call, women are expected to only shoot the ball, not dunk it.

This attitude cannot be tolerated. It is the same attitude that prevailed 40 years ago when it was commonly thought that women could not fun a full marathon and were prohibited from racing in the Boston Marathon. Until, Kathrine Switzer registered for the 1967 Boston Marathon as K. Switzer and despite even a race official's attempt to remove her from the race, finished it in 4 hours 20 minutes.

Photo: AP/Wideworld Photo

The referees should call the sport the same way whether men or women are playing. To do otherwise sends the wrong message.