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Stephen Moore
- President Donald Trump's pick for the Federal Reserve Board, economic commentator Stephen Moore, wrote columns criticizing women's roles in sports in the early 2000s.
- In a series of columns for the the conservative National Review magazine and resurfaced by CNN on Monday, Moore said women shouldn't referee or announce men's college basketball games.
- He also suggested a female sports journalist wear halter tops and called female referees an "obscenity."
- Moore told CNN's KFile that the columns for the National Review were "a spoof."
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One of President Donald Trump's picks for the Federal Reserve Board previously wrote columns about banning women from refereeing or announcing men's sports.
Columns written by economic commentator Stephen Moore for the the conservative National Review magazine in the early 2000s were unearthed by CNN on Monday.
The columns, in which he called co-ed recreational leagues a "travesty" and said women should be banned from refereeing, announcing, or beer vending at men's college basketball games resurfaced after Trump tweeted on Monday that his other pick for the Federal Reserve Board, Herman Cain, withdrew from consideration amid scrutiny over sexual harassment allegations that ended his presidential campaign in 2012.
Moore told CNN's KFile that the columns for the National Review were "a spoof," adding that he has "a sense of humor."
In one column from 2002 Moore said women should be banned from the NCAA March Madness competition.
"Here's the rule change I propose: No more women refs, no women announcers, no women beer vendors, no women anything," he wrote in March 2002. "There is, of course, an exception to this rule. Women are permitted to participate, if and only if, they look like [then-CBS sports journalist] Bonnie Bernstein. The fact that Bonnie knows nothing about basketball is entirely irrelevant."
In the same column, he suggested Bernstein wear halter tops and called women referees an "obscenity."
"Is there no area in life where men can take vacation from women? What's next? Women invited to bachelor parties? Women in combat? (Oh yeah, they've done that already.) Why can't women ref he women's games and men the men's games. I can't wait to see the first lady ref have a run in with Bobby Knight," he wrote.
Moore said he was upset women's basketball was shown on ESPN, and criticized co-ed sports.
"Here's another travesty: in playground games and rec leagues these days, women now feel free to play with the men - uninvited in almost every case," he wrote.
Moore, who was named as a pick for the Federal Reserve Board in March, has repeatedly called for all of the members oft he Federal Reserve Board to be fired.
He's a former Trump adviser and has also appeared on CNN to defend the president's policies.
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