KellySyracuse
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I thought this was a good opinion piece on Washington Post about how media treats women's sports. The article is gifted so no paywall.
Edit: I see now that it's a bunch of letters to the editor, the first three are about sports, keep reading after those at your own risk.
Women’s college basketball gets its Game of the Century
"The women got prime time only when there was a star involved. The same happens in virtually every sport. Maryland’s women’s lacrosse has been one the most successful sports programs with similar records to Connecticut women’s basketball, but many of their games are still streamed rather than broadcast on cable. Women’s sports in general have had significant rises in popularity, be they soccer, basketball, lacrosse, tennis, softball, ice skating or gymnastics. However, each sport sustains an audience only when the news media puts the events out there and consistently keeps the games and competitions in front of an audience.
How many of us remember the women’s World Cup soccer successes, the astounding achievements of Venus and Serena Williams, Simone Biles’s exploits on every piece of gymnastics equipment available to her and now Caitlin Clark’s hardwood dominance. I challenge anyone to name any University of Connecticut men’s basketball stars or any one Purdue player other than Zach Edey a week after the final. We have women’s stars who linger in our memories: Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka in tennis, Katie Ledecky in swimming, Candace Parker and Brittney Griner in basketball and Megan Rapinoe in soccer. Give women’s sports visibility and their popularity will be sustained."
Edit: I see now that it's a bunch of letters to the editor, the first three are about sports, keep reading after those at your own risk.
Women’s college basketball gets its Game of the Century
"The women got prime time only when there was a star involved. The same happens in virtually every sport. Maryland’s women’s lacrosse has been one the most successful sports programs with similar records to Connecticut women’s basketball, but many of their games are still streamed rather than broadcast on cable. Women’s sports in general have had significant rises in popularity, be they soccer, basketball, lacrosse, tennis, softball, ice skating or gymnastics. However, each sport sustains an audience only when the news media puts the events out there and consistently keeps the games and competitions in front of an audience.
How many of us remember the women’s World Cup soccer successes, the astounding achievements of Venus and Serena Williams, Simone Biles’s exploits on every piece of gymnastics equipment available to her and now Caitlin Clark’s hardwood dominance. I challenge anyone to name any University of Connecticut men’s basketball stars or any one Purdue player other than Zach Edey a week after the final. We have women’s stars who linger in our memories: Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka in tennis, Katie Ledecky in swimming, Candace Parker and Brittney Griner in basketball and Megan Rapinoe in soccer. Give women’s sports visibility and their popularity will be sustained."
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