It's a regular occurrence it seems, a woman working in sports media, whether radio, TV or print, gets criticized , trolled on social media, not based on their knowledge of the sport they are covering, not based on their competence but because of their looks or even more basic for the simple fact they are a female. Twitter responses can be full of criticism, but hardly will it ever be a thoughtful, well worded critique of one's performance. Most criticism will tend to focus on things that are not competence or knowledge based but rather things like voice pitch or hair style.
I follow a number of female sport media personalities via twitter, and not a day goes by when there isn't a negative comment on one of their sports that ranges from simple condescension to insult to outright harassment. In the last few days, there were a few interaction of this nature and as I was looking for a new topic to blog about, it decided to revisits the issue of women in sports media, something I had written about last summer. You can find that post via this link women-working-in-sports-media.html The issue or gender bias, stereotyping or gender based discrimination in the work place is nothing new. Women in any career face struggles that men don’t and women in sports media face an especially steep, uphill battle in a heavily male-dominated industry getting hit with criticism that their male counterparts don’t. It can range anywhere from lower pay for similar work, limited or no access to management or senior administrative positions and of course blatant harassment in the workplace in various forms. It happens in every field but in my humble opinion it would seem more prevalent in the sports media field by the basic nature and perception of the industry, not somehow, females, just for the fact of being females can't possible understand or know enough about sports. So let me get this right, women can be doctors, scientists, engineers, astronauts, and a whole range of other positions but somehow, their gender alone makes them not qualified to know enough about sports. No one is above all criticism, especially those in the media. But people should be criticized for the content of what they say, not for their gender, sexuality or race. Criticizing women in sports media for being women takes away the meaning of any real, thoughtful commentary on their work. Completely removing trolls from Twitter is an impossible game, but if there are more women in sports media, the hateful comments made by these trolls will seem more outlandish. There is power in numbers, and women in sports media deserve all the power they can get. And, it should be noted, that female sports reporters have get to deal with things like online slideshows "20 Sexiest Sports Broadcasters" which although not specified only includes females, in addition to the harassment from fans, the athletes they cover and even their own colleagues. Sports journalism is a uniquely difficult beat for the few women that are lucky enough to get the job. Think back to Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, being surprised when asked about a defensive coverage scheme that he had faced , coming from a female reporter. He commented how surprising ( or funny ?) to have a woman asked such a sports focused question. This is the example that came to mind as I am typing but these situations happen all the time. As a male, it’s impossible to understand the challenges of navigating the sports media world or in reality any career path as a female. I heard that argument a lot during my 27 years of coaching, that although I was heavily involved in female sports and advocated strongly for the equitable treatment, coverage and respect for female sports, that my being a male made it impossible to fully "get" what it might be like to be a woman in the sports field. Of course, I cannot know what it is like to be harassed based on my gender or looks , to be refused access to a desired job or role because I am a woman, and to FEEL how either of those, or the forms of bias or discrimination can make a woman feel. However, because of my involvement in female sports, because of my interaction with female athletes, coaches and administrators, I have had lots of up close exposure and discussions about what they face or have faced. I have heard other males around me make comments about female athletes I coach or coaches, about other female athletes or about female sports in general. I can share my opinions as an observer with some inside knowledge. I do not pretend to put myself in the place of females who have faced these issues but but sharing I am hoping to show my support. I don't want to write about female sports on the whole but about females in the field of sports media. With the #metoo stories seemingly in the news daily, it is no stretch that this reality is part of the sports media field also. It can range from subtle aggression such as mansplaining and coded language, to inappropriate comments or suggestions right to the more direct romantic advances in professional settings that constitute sexist treatment on the job. In addition, females if sports media face harassment from the general public who more and more seem willing to share " their opinions" on the competence of women working in sport. At the most basic level, when the conversation shifts to women working in sports media, it is quite obvious that the acceptance of and patience with women is far less than their male counterparts. If a woman makes a mistake or mispronounces an athletes’ name, people jump all over her via social media, Rarely is the reaction the same when a man makes the same mistakes. The same can be said for comments about how a woman looks, what she wears, how her hair is done, and of course how she interacts with athletes. For some, it was an accepted part of being a woman working in a male dominating industry. However, if that doesn't fly in other fields, why should it in sports. While their are more women covering sports today, this is simply a case of more numbers because of the increase in mediums which cover sports, specialty all sports TV and radio stations, online streaming, podcasts, etc. Take the time to google information about females working in sports media and you will probably find lots of confirming information that the percentage of women in sports is roughly at the same levels it has been for the last few decades, roughly at 10%. How is it that a recently retired former professional male athlete, can be automatically deemed more competent and viable to work in sports media than a female who completes a degree in sports journalism, does all the right apprenticeships, works her way up through the industry? The issue is not very different than what we see for example in the area of women in coaching roles. The main decision makers remain male. So whether they present barriers to access in the field for the reason of keeping it male dominated or to avoid having to deal with the negative comments, it still comes down to the same issue, male decision makers perpetuating the lack of access to the field. What I find even funnier is that if men who follow sports feel that women can't possibly have sufficient understanding or knowledge to understand male sports because they can't put themselves in the place of male athletes, how is it that males feel that they can easily understand and report on female sports ? So women can understand a sport well enough to play it, say my sport of soccer, a woman can represent her country, play professionally ( another blog topic), be very successful but once retired not be sufficiently knowledgeable to cover it, not female games or male games. I remember watching many of the games from the 2015 World Cup that took place here in Canada ( that is female world cup for the "unknowledgeable" and while all the officials were female ( I blogged about this also), the play by play commentators and studio personalities were predominantly male. So basically a male is better suited to comment on female soccer than a female who actually played the sport. Like in any field, role models play a huge role. When young girls see women in the field of sports media it can serve as a motivation to pursue it as a career. When they see women in the field being harassed and leaving it, well, we know where that leads. While there has been progress with females in sports media, things like locker room access, increase mediums for covering sports etc, the growth in social media and the ease with which the public can interact with public personalities is actually serving as a deterrent. I have no facts to back up this statement, but I am sure for every Sarah Spain, Julie diCaro or Chantal Machabee to name a very few (if you don't know who they are, use google), who speak up for women in sports media , there if exponentially more who give up, tired of facing the bias and harassment. For me, like in coaching, good is good. I enjoy the perspective that a female can bring to sports coverage, whether in play by play, or covering the team beat. I think there are more who feel like me that those who choose to be trolls or criticize, we just need to be willing to show our support and shame the naysayers, not that many of these great female sports personalities needs our help. best !
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AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
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