LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Let's Retire The Phrase "Lady Blue Knights"

PHOTO COURTESY BILL MCKERNAN

Regarding the December 3, 2025 Southington Outsider article, “Southington Adds Girls Golf as CIAC Sanctioned Sport,” I would like to raise an important issue related to how we refer to our female athletes. I am writing to respectfully ask our school community to reconsider the name of our high school girls' athletic teams, the "Lady Blue Knights." While I admire the girls' prowess and the history of our programs, the name reinforces a subtle but persistent linguistic bias that marks our female athletes as secondary rather than equal. Currently, the boys’ teams are simply the "Blue Knights," the unmarked and more powerful default. The girls, however, are assigned the qualifier "Lady Blue Knights."

We do not refer to the boys as the "Gentlemen Blue Knights," yet the female team is required to carry a prefix. This suggests that the female form is a secondary version or an exception, rather than an equal standard.

The most compelling argument against this practice comes from history itself, where strong women have always embodied the spirit of the knight without needing a qualifier. Figures like Joan of Arc led armies to victory, functioning as a commander and general on the battlefield. Noblewomen like Matilda of Tuscany held military command, and elite women were formally inducted as "Ladies of the Garter," showing that high status and power have long included women.

There is a growing trend in collegiate and professional sports to adopt a single, powerful name that unites all athletes under the same banner. The clearest and most powerful statement we can make about true equality is to give all of our athletes the most potent title possible: the Blue Knights.

Let us recognize that our female athletes are not just female versions of knights; they are powerful, skilled competitors who deserve a name that conveys strength and achievement. Adopting one unified name would affirm to all young athletes that in Southington, excellence has no modifier.

Sincerely,

Bill McKernan