Teamwork? Overcoming adversity? Yes, I guess you can learn those via other means, but sports provide a regularly scheduled pattern of this.
Physical toughness? I've met a lot of women who come up way short. Sports is one of the few ways - and a fun way - to gain this (literal) strength.
Good sportsmanship? Many women I know could stand to learn that aspect of character a lot.
I like football and basketball. But, the over-emphasis on spectator sports has made Americans a nation of spectators. Football, and to a lesser extent basketball, are not life sports. We would be better off if more Americans spent Sat and/or Sunday outside engaging in vigorous outdoor activities than getting fat and drunk watching other people exercise on the football field. (Not that there’s anything wrong with drinks and snacks in moderation.)
So do a lot of other activities.
Physical toughness? I've met a lot of women who come up way short. Sports is one of the few ways - and a fun way - to gain this (literal) strength.
So is dance. My daughter is 15 and she has played baseball, softball and street hockey, but she prefers dance and none have been done through school. She refused to go out for the middle school softball team when she aged out of the league she was in (she didn't want to join a travel team) because the rules don't permit the kids to do what she won league MVP doing her last year - stealing bases.
One of the boys who does dance with her is a senior this year. He is the captain of the both the school football and wrestling teams, and carries a 3.95 GPA.
My point is, school sports are not the only means of learning teamwork, overcoming adversity, gaining strength, or learning good sportsmanship.
You are the embodiment of everything from which I have always recoiled in horror.