This story was originally written and published in December 2024
“Sports are a man’s game.” It seems that this has always been the case in the eyes of many. In general, men dominate the sports world. This has led to women being historically and systemically pushed to the side. Even the names of sports leagues themselves prove that.
In most major and or national leagues women’s sports must be differentiated by their gender when naming them, but men’s sports leagues are simply named after the sport. For example men’s national basketball is represented by the NBA, which stands for the National Basketball Association. Women’s national basketball is the WNBA, the Women’s National Basketball Association. Why is women’s basketball not simply basketball?
I understand why there is a separation between men and women’s sports, but why do men keep the title of the entire sport by itself?
Intercollegiate sports do a much better job at this, typically calling each sport men’s or women’s. Slippery Rock University does this as well, however if a student were to discuss SRU’s soccer team it is universally understood that we are speaking about the men’s soccer team.
Thankfully, Title IX was passed in 1972. This protects individuals from discrimination on the basis of sex in education and academics. This includes academic activities such as sports. Schools, colleges, universities and other academic institutions which receive federal financial assistance are required to provide equal athletic opportunities for both males and females. Since Title IX was passed, there has been more than a 1,000% increase in women’s participation in sports.
This is amazing, however at the intercollegiate level, over 90% of college and university athletics are out of compliance with Title IX based on the three-prong test.
There is a lack of representation of women in coaching roles as well. In college athletics specifically, only 15% of athletic director positions are made up of women. Even when women do coach sports teams, they usually only coach women’s sport teams. It is rare to see a woman coaching a men’s sports, however plenty of men coach women’s sports.
The pay gap between male and female athletes is truly astounding. The average salary of men in the NBA is over $10 million. Meanwhile, women in the WNBA are paid an average salary of $113 thousand. The statistics are similar for other sports leagues like the NHL, where male players made $9.5 million, in contrast to the PWHL where female players made only $80 thousand.
Caitlin Clark was the WNBA’s No. 1 draft pick of 2024. Her salary is about $76 thousand. A miniscule salary for a major player. It becomes all the more appalling when you learn that 2024 NBA No. 1 draft pick Zaccharie Risacher’s salary is $12.5 million.
Despite being brand new to the WNBA, Clark has already faced an awkward interaction with the media. She took part in her first new conference with the Indiana Fever when just four minutes into the conference she faced an inappropriate remark by columnist Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star.
He mimicked a heart-shaped hand gesture which Clark then said, “Yeah, I do that at my family after every game.” Doyel responded by saying, “Start doing it to me and we’ll get along just fine.” Clark smiled uncomfortably while others laughed, a reaction many women can relate to when similar situations happen to them.
It may seem like a small and insignificant remark, however if you imagine a man in Clark’s position, a comment like that would never be made.
Women in the sports world who are not athletes themselves cannot avoid scrutiny either. Jenny Cavnar became the first woman to serve as a team’s regular play-by-play broadcaster in MLB history this past February. She has since been the target of sexist remarks online from fans.
During a game on May 30, Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Jose Siri swung and missed a pitch. Jokingly, Cavnar said, “Hey, Siri, it’s not your night.” However moments later he hit a game-tying home run. This resulted in insults on social media such as, “Go back to the kitchen, lady,” and, “I really need to know how she got this job.” A Change.org petition was then launched to have Cavnar fired. It received over 600 signatures.
When a similar situation happened to MLB commentator Greg Amslinger, fans online said it was “the funniest.”
The media coverage women’s sports receive in comparison to men’s is miniscule. Overall, women’s sports received only an average of 4% of sports media coverage over the last decade. As of last year this increased to 15%. While this is a step in the right direction, there are still struggles. Despite over 10 million people watching the 2022 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, ESPN still did not place the 2023 Championship in a prime time slot. Acts like these prevent and slow growth in terms of coverage.
When it comes to women simply watching sports, it is hard to avoid criticism. Many women and girls have gained an interest in football due to Taylor Swift’s relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Throughout my life I have heard men complain that they cannot find a woman to date who is interested in sports, but now that thousands of women and girls are interested it is an inconvenience. Apparently it does not count if the interest is not rooted in the “right” reasons.
Instead, women are “invading” football and Taylor Swift is being shown on screen “too much,” despite only appearing on screen .46% of the available screen time on average per game. That is only 25 seconds each three to four hour game.
Despite more impressive numbers and higher participation in athletics from women in recent years, 44% of men consider themselves to be avid sports fans in comparison to only 15% of women who say the same.
You may be thinking, “Why write this article then? If the majority of women are not interested in sports then why does it matter?”
It matters to the little girl who wants to be a major league baseball player when she grows up. The little girl who will throw that ball as hard as she can when she hears the phrase “throw like a girl.” Because with the way women in sports are currently treated, “throw like a girl” will become synonymous with “weak” in that little girl’s mind after a few years.
She will join the baseball team at her school and by age 14 be two times as likely as the boys her age to drop out due to sexist remarks and social stigma. However if things finally change, she might have a shot.
“Sports are a man’s game.” A phrase that should no longer have power because really, sports are simply just a game.
