everybody...their

[Alice Faber]

On Tuesday, April 17, 2001, at 03:27 PM, Douglas G. Wilson wrote:

>> "A player has to be responsible for their actions in this league." --
>> Ernie Grunfeld
>
> What would Mr. Grunfeld say if asked about this utterance? [I have no
> idea;
> I've never met him.]
>
> He might say: "Oops, I meant 'his'." [OK, we all make boo-boos.]
> He might say: "I feel one should use 'their' in all cases, to advance
> sexual equality." [OK, each man has his notions, but I don't have to
> like
> them.]
> He might say: "I think the plural pronoun must be used since 'actions'
> is
> plural." [If my opinion were solicited, I would strongly object.]
> He might say: "I meant that each individual player must be responsible
> for
> the actions of all the players." [Hmm ....]
> Etc.

Given that Mr. Grunfeld is *not* a linguist, I rather suspect that his
response, if asked about this utterance, would be based on the content
rather than the form. If he got as far as the form, I rather suspect
he'd focus on whether he'd worded it strongly enough or too strongly.

AF