Thanks.
We all look at people and make judgements about them that are superficial and some of those judgements are about attractiveness - all very natural. In personal interactions we often compliment each other on our appearances - and we take pleasure in receiving those compliments - all part of our social being. When we are together with a friend we know well, we also may comment quietly about total strangers we see using superficial impressions - also pretty standard stuff and never likely to change. But if we were with a friend and they saw a stranger and let out a wolf whistle or shouted out a comment about their appearance I think we would be pretty shocked and question what the heck they thought they were doing.
Well, a public forum is sort of an anonymous version of that - it is not quietly between friends, but publicly between a bunch of strangers. We sort of expect it when discussing celebrities who trade on their looks as part of their 'brand' - to some degree they are making money by selling that 'look' - it goes too far, but ...
We are pretty protective about derogatory comments about superficial qualities of 'our' players, but a lot of folks don't recognize that what they consider complimentary comments about those same qualities can be just as offensive to others and or the players themselves. Having a friend say you look great is nice, having a stranger walk up and say you look great is pretty creepy. Players are 'public figures', but what they are selling is their skill on the basketball court. Coaches the same. Saying coach A is gorgeous, is just the flip side of saying coach B is ugly - neither are relevant to their job, nor appropriate to a public forum.
