So punching boys is acceptable, then?

This past week, a visiting hockey fan was punched by one or more Senators fans for making a joking comment about the game.

This is, of course, an appalling display of violence and sports-related stupidity. Taunting the opposing team is a time-honoured part of competitive sports, and taking sports overly seriously is a time-honoured display of lack of perspective. I should think it goes without saying that punching people is not okay. And that if our devotion to our team is such that we'll punch people for saying bad things about them, perhaps we should lay off the beer and take some deep breaths.

But hockey fans do stupid things and get into stupid fights all the time. Do you know why this story really made the news?

Because the victim was a woman. And, as everyone knows, you don't punch girls.

I agree: punching girls is a bad thing. I would go so far as to say punching anyone is a bad thing. So why does this kind of display of poor sportsmanship have to be tied up with archaic notions of chivalry and protection of the "weaker" sex?