Most of the commonly-played sports that people know and love are divided by gender, but few diverge as strangely as men’s and women’s lacrosse. 

Men’s lacrosse, for example, allows full contact and shot blocking, while women’s lacrosse prohibits both of these. Similarly, the men’s game features 10 players on a smaller field while the women’s game has 12 on a larger field. 

The discrepancies between these two versions of lacrosse cover nearly every aspect of the game, from the number of players on the field to the equipment, field size and level of contact. Only in softball and baseball does such a gendered discrepancy exist so blatantly, but at least these two sports never claim to be the same. 

As an outsider to the game, there seems to be no inherent reason for the drastic differences in each game other than the typical and tragic sports-related case of gender inequality. 

Of course, neither men’s nor women’s lacrosse is inherently better — one is more physical and the other calls for more stamina, both of which require skilled athletes. It’s the simple fact that they are so different that is oddly discomforting. 

While it is true that female athletes have been making greater and greater waves in their respective realms, it seems that the gender divide in sports won’t be fully complete until everyone plays the same game. 

With lacrosse being one of the largest offenders in this disparity, it seems only natural that the two sports should make a distinct effort to combine rulebooks into one game.