Assignment Three: Opinion Piece

One of the few things that I hate in the world of sports is the blatant sexism. As a girl who has grown up surrounded by sports, it is absolutely demeaning to see the way that women are treated, in all aspects of the industry.

I went to my first Philadelphia Phillies game when I was just over a year old. And from then on, there wasn’t a time in my life that I didn’t have a favorite player—from Kevin Stocker to Rico Brogna to Mike Lieberthal. I went to spring training when I was five years old. I watch the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game every year, and I almost made it to the end of the 2008 game. I do my best to make it to at least one game every year and I watched every moment of the 2008 road to the World Series, despite my roommates’ disdain. I, like many other Phillies and sports fans, cried when I heard the news that the Phillies’ announcer Harry Kalas had died.

But my love of sports doesn’t stop there. My parents are avid football fans, and they passed that onto me. And while I’m hesitant to admit it, in my younger I wavered between their two favorite teams, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago Bears. But I went to the 2007 NFC Championship in Chicago against the New Orleans Saints and stood for hours in a blizzard to watch them win.

I found hockey by myself when I was young, listening to the radio late at night to the sounds of Philadelphia Flyers Eric Lindros and John LeClair. I eventually grew out of it, and rediscovered it three years ago with the help of my boyfriend. I fell in love with the sheer intensity of the sport, and the heart and determination present in so many of the players. I’m still mesmerized each time I get the opportunity to go to a game.

While I may not be able to name MVPs and World Series Champions from thirty years ago, while I may not be able to tell you the score of the Lakers game last night, and while I may not be your typical sports fan, that doesn’t give anyone the right to discredit me.

I am not a bandwagon fan. I am not a puck bunny. I am not a girl who merely pretends to like the game to spend time with her boyfriend. I am not a girl who watches Phillies games because Chase Utley is ‘hot.’
I am a girl who spends her free time on her favorite sports blogs. I am a girl who counts down the days until catchers and pitchers report to Clearwater. I am a girl that follows rumors and news on Twitter daily. I am a girl who eats, sleeps, and breathes sports. I am a girl that has already created two sports blogs of her own. I am a girl who hopes to make sports her career.

Which is why it breaks my heart to see the way that women are mistreated throughout sports.

The most recent example is the Super Bowl. The commercials were transparently misogynistic and heavily targeted emasculated men and their fear of emasculation. They encouraged men to ‘change out of that skirt’ and ‘drive the car they want to drive because they carry their girlfriend’s/wife’s lip balm.’ Many people were confused and annoyed by this year’s commercials, especially women. And they had a right to be. Millions of women watch the Super Bowl every year—football is not just a ‘man’s sport.’ When I lived at home, my family would have a Super Bowl party every year and surprisingly, the women were more interested in watching the game than cooking in the kitchen.

But that isn’t the only example of the biases in the world of sports. Each year, Sports Illustrated publishes a swimsuit issue that features spreads of models and athletes in bikinis. Some of the athletes featured were Jennie Finch, Serena Williams, Anna Kournikova, Maria Sharapova, and Danica Patrick. Cheerleaders from more than 10 NFL teams have also been featured.

The fact that Sports Illustrated, like the Super Bowl, strongly targets men is ridiculous. While these issues certainly make money (even I know how much guys look forward to this edition), they are completely ignoring half of the sports world. I know it’s too much to ask to do away with the issue entirely, despite the fact that these models and athletes are being treated like pieces of meat, but is it too much to ask for an edition for the female sports demographic? Who knows how many more readers and subscriptions they might gain if they extended a hand towards women?

Sports aren’t only for men. And it’s frustrating, as women, to try to exist in the world of sports when we are belittled so frequently. It isn’t rare to see a hockey game in which one player calls another an obscene word for the female genitals. It isn’t rare to see a woman called a puck bunny, a derogatory word for a female ice hockey fan. It isn’t rare to see a man in the role as announcer, beat writer, or reporter.

Women deserve respect in the world of sports. Women like Erin Andrews, a reporter for ESPN who was stalked by a man who took pictures of her through her hotel room windows. Women like her are paving the way for others in journalism and sports itself.

By the time I graduate and get into the male-dominated field of sports writers, I hope to be able to gain the respect of my peers. I hope they respect me as a writer, as a sports fan, and most importantly, as a woman.