SILENCING THE STIGMA - WOMEN IN SPORT

Sammy Brezovsky

Why is it, when ESPN, Bleacher Report, or any other website posts a video of a male athlete doing something ridiculous, men love it and glorify the athlete, but when the same site posts a video of a woman doing the same thing, men never seem to like it? They always rush to find any reason to discredit the women athlete. I sat down with a couple of women paving their way into the sport media industry to discuss this.

Sophia Roy of @Section604sports says,

"as a woman, it’s hard to talk about sports without feeling diminished, or feeling like I have to prove my knowledge on another level”

That’s definitely something I’ve noticed as well. You’ll see female creators have hot takes, one that a man could make with less vulnerability, and immediately get hounded with rude comments and threats to dispute their knowledge.

Melissa Gil, who’s gathered a huge following on her social media @melgilsports, is known for her hot- but good basketball opinions, has a similar experience. She says,

"you can’t tell me that if a man and woman both said the same controversial sports opinion that each would elicit the same response and reaction. The woman in the case will most likely receive the more negative response.”

Mel makes a good point. Fans are always talking about growing the game, getting people involved, but when they disclude people for their gender, or other bad assumptions it turns people off and puts a bad taste in their mouths causing them to not want to participate, or not participate as openly. But why do some men feel the need to gatekeep women out of the sporting world? Are they intimidated? Scared to share something they love with a different gender?

Emily Simonetta, who also is killing it over at @section604sports, tells us,

"it is a mostly male-dominated industry and mostly all televised sports are for men's sports, it sometimes feels like your out of place and you have to prove yourself and your knowledge. Seeing more women's sports being put on display definitely helps but there is still a long way to go”

Lack of coverage definitely is a reason why women feel discluded from sports. The proof lies in the metaphorical putting if you will, seeing that 95% of all sports covered on TV in 2020 consisted of the masculine gender. Women both in the world of sport and media are forced to do just as much if not more work to get where they are, so instead of shaming and ignoring that, we as a society should be praising them and putting women in the world of sport right alongside their male counterparts.

Of course, some sports fans are stubborn and won’t change their minds. They’ll always see women’s sports as inferior.

Mel says how “it’s all rooted in misogyny and the “brotherhood” of men in sports”.

And what do I have to say to that?

YOU’RE NOT A TRUE SPORTS FAN IF YOU DON’T SUPPORT WOMEN IN SPORT.

A real sports fan enjoys all sports, and respects fans of all kinds, (except habs fans). They don’t gatekeep and exclude people based on their race, sexual orientation, and gender. Instead, they welcome them and treat them as they would any other. If you don’t like women being involved, honestly, you’re a loser. You need to grow up and accept the fact that women have a right to be here just as much as we do. But don’t take it from me, take it from these three, who have to experience this on a daily basis in the sports media industry.

Emily: “Women’s sports and their involvement are growing and I think people need to accept that. Women’s sports are just as skilled as men and female athletes and broadcasters continue to prove that. Sports are not just for men.”

Soph: “Honestly, there’s so much I want to say, but I wouldn’t know how to say it. I want to talk about sports without being diminished and I want to lift that stigma of who is ‘allowed’ to enjoy sports.”

Mel: “I would just like them to know that women are just as capable, knowledgeable, and passionate as men can be in sports or in whatever space that has historically been reserved for men.”