The mistreatment of female athletes and women’s sports
Picture this: you do a group project, and you get a lower grade than everyone else in your group because your professor doesn’t like you based on your “lack of presentation.” You’re frustrated, because you know that you worked so hard on that project, but no matter how hard you try, you still end up getting penalized. Well, that’s how it feels to be a woman athlete in a world of men’s sports.
Noticing the lack of support and coverage women's sports receives is disheartening. According to Stadium Talk, the Super Bowl, followed by the World Series and National Basketball Association finals, are the most televised sports in America. The only time women would be televised in these sports would be if they were cheerleaders, and these recordings sexualize the girls via carefully choosing what kind of angles they are filmed at. Or, if a women’s sports team does get coverage, it will likely be because they are causing a “ruckus”—fighting for equal pay rates—or if they win a big championship game. Why do television producers exclude women like this?
Most sports channels only bring attention and televise events that will bring in more revenue. National Public Radio (NPR) states that “the NCAA invests more in those championships [men’s Division I basketball, football, ice hockey etc..] that it views as already or potentially revenue-producing, while minimizing spending for other championships [women’s D1 basketball, ice hockey, lacrosse etc.]”
In Mar. 2021 the NCAA was truly caught slipping when a TikTok video from Women’s NCAA player Sedona Prince went viral for showing the huge difference in amenities offered to the D1 men’s and women’s basketball teams during their championship events. To sum up the differences, the women’s team was given one rack of weights ranging from five to 50 lbs and yoga mats in their “workout center,” but the men were given a whole room filled with an assortment of weights and machines. The women’s “swag bag” consisted of 75% less than what the men were offered. As for food, the women’s team were served boxed meals, while the men’s team had full buffets for every meal.
None of this is fair for the women’s teams who worked so hard to finally get to these competitions and consistently get the short end of the stick, while the men practically get things handed to them on a golden platter. It is discouraging, both for current professional athletes and the female athletes of the future. It can even be seen here at SUNY Geneseo; the differences in crowd attendance between men’s games and women’s games is enough to make your stomach turn. Also, playing on a club team here and seeing how the women’s club ice hockey team is run compared to how the men’s club ice hockey team is managed is disappointing.
These are just a fraction of the problematic differences in the treatment of women’s sports and female athletes. Women aren’t objects that you can watch for your pleasure—women are hard workers, goal-getters, achievers, scholars and so much more. They deserve so much credit and support for their athletic achievements. So, try your best to make it to the women’s sports games here at SUNY Geneseo, and anywhere else you can. The more exposure women’s sports get, the better their recognition will become and the brighter the future will be.