Storyline: Women are not objects created for men to stare at. But that’s how it feels when a woman is reporting a game. There are more comments being made about her eyes, hair, or figure than what she’s talking or writing about. But there’s more: the misogynistic messages received online by women in sports media.
Women in the sports world face a continuously difficult path for careers in the sporting world. According to a recent documentary by an American sports research foundation, 40% of all athletes are women, yet they receive 4% of all media coverage. If that doesn’t sound discouraging enough, I’m not done.
Dave Zirin, a well-known sports commentator for The Nation and SLAM Magazine, interviewed sports journalists Sarah Spain and Julie DiCaro after a video went viral of the two women asking men to read misogynistic messages they received online. Zirin commented that there have never been more women sportswriters, but we still have miles to go. The video, #MoreThanMean – Women in Sports ‘Face’ Harassment, has exposed a disturbing level of hate and violence women in sports media face — just for doing their jobs.
Fan reading tweets to Sarah Spain (photo, footballscoop.com)
justnotsports.com put out a PSA where sports writer Julie DiCaro and ESPN radio host. Sarah Spain, had their tweets read out loud by men sitting just two feet in front of them. Many of the tweets included very degrading comments, saying women should only be hired for sexual desires and food to be cooked. They hoped their boyfriends would beat them. They should get hit in the face by a hockey puck. One tweeter said he hoped DiCaro would become Bill Cosby’s next victim. Another man said to DiCaro, “No offense, but sports is where I go to get away from women.”
Zirin refers to these tweeters as idiots.
As more tweets were read, the men reading them grew visibly upset and increasingly uncomfortable … and for good reasons. The men would scratch their heads, smile awkwardly, pause, and make it clear they “are just reading”—that the words are not actually theirs.
In one way, women in the sports world have come a long way. There are many female commentators and journalists, even coaches. Actions can speak louder than words, though. And, sometimes, words make all the noise. Consider two examples.
Olivia Harlan (photo, Twitter.com)
Olivia Harlan works three jobs. She’s an ESPN college football reporter, travels with the Atlanta Hawks for FOX Sports Southeast, and hosts the ACC All Access. In December, she was interviewed by GQ Magazine and said: “I’ll see the Twitter comments after a game and think ‘I prepped so hard and that was just a really good story I told; were you even listening? Was your TV on mute?’ Ninety-nine percent of the tweets I get after a game are ‘Wow, your eyes’ or ‘your hair…’ I can’t tell you how many times I’m just called Erin Andrews because that’s the only female reporter people can think of.”
On top of this, there are rumors she got her job because of nepotism. Her father, Kevin Harlan, broadcasts NFL and college basketball games on CBS and is a play-by-play announcer for the NBA on TNT. But, in reality, she earned her broadcast journalism degree in three-and-a-half years while pledging a sorority, working for UGA’s athletics website, and traveling for a job with Fox Sports South covering SEC football games—all while still in college. Many still believe she is where she is because of family connections, which she denies.
Kristine Ledlow (photo, Twitter.com)
Then there’s Kristen Ledlow, a sports broadcaster, host, and sideline reporter on NBA TV and TNT. Ledlow also works alongside Grant Hill on Saturday’s NBA Inside Stuff. Back in February she retweeted a tweet sent to her by @Jonatha66595563, which said: “@KristenLedlow I hate the sound of your voice but you’re hot.” She came back with “…you can always mute your TV as I’ve now muted your tweets.”
Women are not objects created just for men to stare at. But that’s how it feels when a woman is reporting a game. There are more comments being made about her eyes, hair, or figure rather than what she’s actually talking about. In the interview with Dave Zirin, Sarah Spain said it isn’t that women aren’t tough enough to take the criticism, it’s that they shouldn’t have to. She recognizes that everyone experiences abuse on social media, but foul language against women in male-dominated industries “is particularly awful, quite often rooted in sexual violence and misogyny.”
An important moment for me was when Kristen Ludlow read my article back in March about the woes of the Lakers. I had reached out to her on her Facebook. A random fan, a man, sent the link to her in the comments and gave me feedback, supporting me, and telling me to continue following my dreams! She replied to him: “Andrew, thank you for taking the time to seek out Lala’s work and to provide such strong words of encouragement. Men like YOU make it possible for women like us to work with confidence.”
Men need to encourage women to use their voice instead of speaking for them.
People are gonna’ say a lot of hurtful things, which makes it hard to stay strong. In a male-dominated industry it’s an unspoken requirement to have thick skin, to deal with people who will try to bring you down.
Certain types of men need to realize the power of their words. and think about what they say, before tweeting.
