Trump's Fed nominees: Cain drops out, Moore defends his 'spoof' about women

President Trump’s picks for the Federal Reserve Board have a women problem.

Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, withdrew himself from consideration for a seat on the Federal Reserve’s board of directors Monday, as past allegations of sexual harassment by multiple women led to opposition among Senate Republicans.

President Trump announced Cain’s decision in a tweet.

Cain’s exit now puts attention on Trump’s other pick for the Fed, economic commentator Stephen Moore. Already under fire over his questionable expertise on fiscal policy, Moore’s writings in the National Review about women and sports received renewed scrutiny Monday, including an article from 2002 in which he wrote there should be “no women refs, no women announcers, no women beer venders, no women anything” in the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament.

“How outrageous is this? This year they allowed a woman ref a men's NCAA game. Liberals celebrate this breakthrough as a triumph for gender equity," Moore wrote. "The NCAA has been touting this as example of how progressive they are. I see it as 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 the 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."

Moore also decried what he viewed as"the feminization of basketball generally,” and proudly proclaimed his hatred of women’s basketball. But it’s not just watching women play that irritates Moore. He also railed against CBS over its use of female announcers.

"Another problem is that CBS now has women announcers and commentators. Is nothing sacred?" Moore wrote.

Moore did make one exception, for sportscaster Bonnie Bernstein.

“Women are permitted to participate, if and only if, they look like Bonnie Bernstein,” Moore wrote. “The fact that Bonnie knows nothing about basketball is entirely irrelevant."

Moore also took aim at the women who join men in playground pickup games.

"And while I'm venting on the subject, 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," Moore wrote. "There's no joy in dunking over a girl. Never mind that I can't dunk (except on the eight-foot baskets). If I could, I wouldn't celebrate dunking over someone named Tina."

Asked for comment on his old columns, Moore told CNN they were meant in jest.

"This was a spoof. I have a sense of humor," Moore said in an email.

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