By Stevie

Have you ever watched the Lingerie Football League? You can only watch it on MTV2, which is enough to tell you that regardless of how talented the women may be, this is NOT a sport that one should take seriously and the main objective is to showcase scantily clad women, not football.

No matter how talented and capable these women may be of playing the game, this is completely underminded by the fact that their breasts and behinds are hanging out all over the place.

So now, some brainiac in Tulsa, Oklahoma has decided to start the Bikini Hockey League. According to the press release, founder Cary Eskridge decided that their was a serious hockey void after the NHL lockout of 2004 in Oklahoma. The BHL is the brainchild of this man as a means to bring hockey news back to Oklahoma.

Here is a portion of the press release:

The lack of major league hockey left  the media scrambling to fill the void of hockey news and fans looking for other forms of entertainment. Not a man to sit still, Eskridge started looking for ways to fill the void and that is when the idea of bikini hockey came to Eskridge’s mind.

Really, man? A year without hockey, and THIS is the best idea you could come up with?

The best part of all of this is that there will be a reality show to follow the selection process for the first two teams, which according to recent reports is likely to land on Spike TV or even VH1.

I know when I am looking for hockey news and sports that VH1 is first on my list as an authority on serious sports entertainment.

What I know about the actual play of the league thus far is that this in inline skating hockey, not ice.

This is a novelty, not a sports product in my opinion. Now mind you, I am not against this existing. I am not against the Lingerie Football League. However, the fact that this is going to take place leaves me asking some serious questions.

1. It is known that the ladies will wear pads, but to what extent will they be protected? Will they have to wear helmets? Will their padding have to be limited due to the appeal of watching women skating around 80% nude? Safety is and should be a concern and if limiting their safety equipment is necessary, then something must be done.

2. How does this affect people new to the sport’s impression of female hockey players? Are these ladies ACTUAL hockey players with years of experience under their belts or is the fact that this is a reality show prior to becoming real hockey teams going to equate to a whole lot of women that don’t know the difference between a puck and a roll of stick tape?

3. Isn’t this just a little backward as far drawing positive attention to playing full contact sports? There are thousands of girls out there whom are extremely talented and want to be taken seriously as athletes in male dominated sports. How does this affect the public’s perception of those girls?

Meet Molly, obviously an accomplished Columbus Blue Jackets Ice Girl. She can skate, but can she play?

Thus far, the meagerly assembled website doesn’t provide much insight as to the profiles of the cast members. It is basically just photos of the ladies in lingerie or bikinis (many are from professional photoshoots). Some have quotes, but there is nothing of substance that would provide insight into whether or not these ladies have ever played or even understand the rules of hockey. There are a few quaint and endearing quotes about how they aren’t afraid to get in people’s faces, but I have yet to see one of these woman speak to their desire to be taken seriously in a primarily male sport.

Kelly from Chicago

In my opinion, this is a disaster in the making and does little to shed positive light on women who play hockey.

I am not judging these girls. Many may be very talented hockey players. You cannot judge based on their looks because being pretty doesn’t mean that you aren’t athletic and that you lack knowledge of how sports work. But is this the best way to utilize resources in order to bring attention to the sport in Tulsa and across the nation?

Seems like nothing more than a marketing ploy and an excuse to watch women run around baring their assets.

But hey! I’ve been wrong before!

Where do you stand?