Pinch me, I must be having a nightmare.
In my nightmare, sports journalism for females is an ongoing joke, men reign over the sports booths, and women are objectified for their looks.
Oh wait. The nightmare is real.
Watching football this last season has made it abundantly clear to me that there’s a serious underrepresentation of women in sports reporting, with the only women being objectified as “hot” sideline reporters.
Ah yes, sideline reporting: a job delegated to women since most of the male reporters probably think it’s below their skill level and pay grade. So there these women stand, in the freezing snow or miserable rain, expected to look and smile pretty. Then halftime comes and they ask their usual inane questions, scripted for them because they’re women and probably wouldn’t know what to ask otherwise (SARCASM).
“Coach, what’s your plan for the rest of the game?” To win probably, duh. “How does it feel being down 86-7 after the first half?” Well, how would you feel if your ass was being handed to you? Are you a psychologist or sports announcer? The list of obvious and unnecessary questions could go on.
Now, don’t get me wrong, my fellow Benchwarmers; I have mad respect for female sports journalists such as Erin Andrews, Pam Oliver, Jillian Barbaric, and Michelle Beadle. In fact, I think they’re terrific sports reporters whose abilities are being stifled if they’re handed scripted material with a man’s voice in their ear telling them what to say next, transformed into pretty puppets placed for appeal, which represents the networks’ pathetic attempt to meet equality standards.
Female sports reporters are chosen essentially for their looks. Think about it: Football audiences are predominantly male, so what better way to spike ratings than to add a pretty sideline mouthpiece to the mix? Nowadays, intelligence, writing skills, and knowledge of sports don’t get you in the spotlight. Great hair and an impressive rack will, though.
I’m also not saying that you can’t have a female sports announcer who is both beautiful and intelligent, but honestly? Some of these girls were chosen solely for their looks and more than likely have no athletic background. There are tremendous female athletes out there whose athletic background would make them better suited for the job—as long as they pass the hair and rack requirements first, I guess.
Which begs the question—who is in charge of hiring these women? Probably not women, let’s be honest. There’s an under representation of women in management at these sports networks, so the hiring is left to men who I can guarantee are picking these announcers based on physicality rather than knowledge of football.
Don’t believe they’re chosen for their looks? Well, take Pam Ward for example. Not your typical “Barbie” announcer, Ward was a sports reporter for ESPN College Football before she was pulled. She was heavily ridiculed for her appearance and commentating; people went so far as to say she didn’t know what she was talking about and that “she can keep her butch haircut and matching suit.” Case in point.
As a woman, a former college athlete, and a sports journalist, I refuse to believe that “our place” is down on the sidelines with the cheerleaders and that our only claim to fame is making the “Top 15 Hottest Female Sports Reporters” on a website called “Sideline Hotties.” I wish that website were fake, but it’s not.
This brings me to my next point: Am I the only one who’s noticed there are no female announcers in the booths? “Sideline hotties” on the field chase after aggravated players and coaches while the men sit up in their booths like gods of football. Sports is still clearly a male-dominated profession where women and men have their respective places.
First of all, people, this is 2012, not 1950, so women are past having “a place”—or so I thought. I know it sounds crazy-feminist, but stereotypes surrounding sports and rampant sexism are what keep women out of the fabled announcers’ booths of football. It’s the general consensus that women don’t know about football like men do and that women are generally inept at sports. I can’t even begin to name all the things wrong with this assumption.
I’ll start with a quote from Sunday Night Football sideline reporter Andrea Kremer from a 2011 interview with NPR’s Melissa Block: “There’s not a sports gene that only men possess, and it doesn’t always have to be about why they’re there,” Kremer said.
Well said.
I’ve grown up around sports, I’ve played sports, I watch them, and I spend a lot of my time writing about them. I was lucky enough to have a dad who taught me about the amazing game of football, and I’m proud that I know more about football and sports than some men do. Which proves that women can learn about sports—having the female chromosome doesn’t make us “inept” at learning.
Wake up, world. Just as many women watch football now as men, and there are just as many amazing female athletes from high school to the Olympics who understand what it means to be an athlete and what it takes to be successful.
And let’s be real—the guys in the booth aren’t actually sports reporting geniuses themselves. Frankly, I get annoyed with the arrogant play-by-play from grid-iron has-beens who hop on their pulpit and babble on about useless crap when I just want to watch the game. And for the love of God, I’m hoping other women out there understand the significance of superstition better. Evidently, these dudes don’t, especially, when they say things like “They haven’t lost the last three games.”
Thanks, Chris Collinsworth. Now they will definitely lose.
Basically, sports reporting for females is stuck in an archaic time warp with women in the kitchen and men in the booth. The overarching belief is that women don’t belong in sports—uhhhh? Again, this is 2012, and you can’t tell me where I belong. Are these dudes worried these women are threatening their football domain? Get used to it—women belong in sports just as much as men do.
With the notion of equality and acceptance being falsely touted by sports networks and female sportscasters heavily disrespected, sports journalism is going to be a long uphill battle for females. With that in mind, it might be prudent for some of these aspiring female sports announcers to gird their loins. Educate yourselves on your field, and, most importantly, don’t let anyone tell you you don’t belong in sports.
But what do I know? I’m just a girl—and a Benchwarmer.
Tell the Benchwarmer she can do it! E-mail ksewell@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Dec 20-27, 2012.
