When a fan hears, “touchdown”, “home run”, or “three pointer”, they think of the sport associated with the term, not the athletes playing the sport. The players on the field or on the court do not define what a sport inherently is, so it is unfair to say that women’s sports are any less sports than men’s.
Some of the most popular and influential athletes in the world are women, and many of them are American. Names like Serena Williams, Alex Morgan, and Diana Taurasi headline a long list of female athletes that have made a positive impact on their sport.
In recent history, America has seen a push for more coverage and participation in women’s sports, but there are still some factors that have held women back and continue to hold them back.
The “They Don’t Know What They’re Talking” About Excuse
There appears to be an assumption that women who cover sports do no have enough information to speak on a sport because they may or may not have experience as a player.
University of Tennessee alum and current reporter for the Buffalo Bills Maddy Glab said, “When I was in college I definitely felt like I had to prove myself as a young woman working alongside men who had been in the industry for a long time.”
The fact of the matter is that journalists who follow a team or cover a sport know what they are talking about no matter what. The have to know the ins and outs of the sport they follow in order to properly cover every game. A sports journalist cannot succeed without proper knowledge and practice, so assuming that a female journalist does not know enough is both unfair and foolish.
Glab later said, “I think that with the amount of women we are seeing come into this industry, I see that becoming less, and less, and less every year.”
Poor Coverage or a Lack of Coverage
Certain reporters who have covered women’s sports have failed to recognize the female athletes as competitors in a game.
For example, when Kealia Watt, at the time known as Kealia Ohai, was traded from the Houston Dash to the Chicago Red Stars, a story was run headlined as “Houston Dash trade J.J. Watt’s fiancee to Chicago.”
Kealia Watt is now married to Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, who responded to the headline by saying, “This headline is trash. Kealia Ohai (which is her name by the way, since you didn’t even bother to mention it) is incredible entirely on her own merit and deserves to be treated as such. Be better than this.”
If reporters worked to treat female athletes the same way they treat male athletes, women’s sports will have a much bigger impact on American culture.
Matthew Covers Sports 