Matt Garza Doesn't Want Women Talking Baseball, But Has No Problem Weighing in on Birth Control

Academy Award-nominated actress Jessica Chastain tweeted about birth control and potential changes that could happen in a post-Affordable Care Act America. Milwaukee Brewers starter Matt Garza suggested a solution:

Just stop having sex.

A few things to point out here. First, Chastain’s original tweet is misleading about the present and potential future cost of contraception and worthy of critique. Secondly, Garza is entitled to hold and share his own opinions.  But, there are a few things hanging out there that color his abstinence tweet. There’s the fact that he has six children himself, the first born when Garza was 18.

It is fantastic Garza has a big family and that, by his own account, becoming a father at a young age did not have negative impacts. As an adult, he made his own decisions about what type of life he wanted to lead, which leads us to Point No. 2.

It’s impossible not to see the hypocrisy in Garza telling millions of women how to live their lives, how to treat their bodies. Why, that’s akin to a player’s wife telling Garza how to play baseball, something the pitcher did not take kindly to after an especially dumb incident in 2013 involving Eric Sogard and his wife, Kaycee.

And finally, it’s unclear what generation Garza is referring to. He is 33 and has six children. Chastain is 39 and is childless. #juatsaying.

Garza’s comments are being met with predictable anger this morning, but in the interest of fairness we should point out one unfair argument that’s being used against him. Many have rightly pointed out that contraception is just one reason to take birth control and that he’s ignoring other aspects. But Chastain’s original tweet is specifically about keeping “women out of the work force,” presumably due to pregnancy and maternity leave.

Anyway, this is what happens when actresses don’t stick to acting and sports people don’t stick to sports. Obviously the right course of action is for everyone to stay in their own lane with their heads down and never engage in debate.