Do women wimp out?

There's been keen coverage of an event in college women's softball--probably you've heard the story, coverage here. Last inning home run hit puts losing team ahead, but hitter/baserunner injures her knee and is unable to make the rounds of the bases. Members of the opposing team carry her around the bases, ensuring that her home run counts, ensuring that their own team will lose and that they are eliminated from payoffs. The incident sparked a firestorm of controversial commentary (see WSJ Independent Street blog)--what began as a tug-at-your-heartstrings sportsmanship story was often condemned as a reason women do not attain the highest levels of business leadership--a misplaced and dangerous sense of "fairness" that undermines our ability to compete and actually teaches us bad lessons in sportsmanship.

Wow--I've really taken that to heart. When I first heard the story I thought it was an extraordinary lesson in selfless generosity, but what if it was just stupid? And how could I learn from the dialog?

I'd like to think that the women who spontaneously performed an act of kindness will reap rewards in the future. I mean if it were just up to me, I would hire them. I would trust them. I would put them in charge of a sticky joint venture. I would believe in their ability to take daily conflicts to a higher level of meaning where they can be resolved gracefully.

But what do you think? Is the economy hungering for more generosity, or are women just wimping out?