On International Women's Day: The Need for Inclusivity and Diversity in Sports
On International Women's Day: The Need for Inclusivity and Diversity in Sports
For the longest time, it felt like the only way to be involved in men’s sports was to be a cheerleader.
Watch a game and count how many women you see on the sidelines as a team employee. They’re more than likely an athletic trainer or a cheerleader.
If you’re not a woman, you’ve more than likely never had your sports knowledge tested. Your fandom literally tested with quiz questions. From the moment you start watching sports (and I mean the main sports that air in the US) you’re consistently told, as a woman, that you don’t belong here. You can’t possibly know as much about this sport because you’re not a man. You’ve never played. (Hi have you checked to see how many beat writers you inherently trust that don’t have playing experience... but they’re male so you don’t think about that right?)
From Matthew J.X. Malady, ‘Why are there still no women coaching men’s sports? And why don’t we care?’
It was about a year into college when I changed my major to journalism with a focus in sports journalism. That was about the time when I realized if women weren’t on the sidelines cheering, they were in the press box. They were in locker rooms before and after games, interviewing athletes, showing they know just as much as the men even if they hadn’t played the game themselves.
Now MLB has their first female coach. It’s not a stunt. It’s not to be “cute.” And frankly it’s offensive to see those comments. Because they would never be said about a male coach.
Notable Women Making History in Men’s Sports
Hayley Wikenheiser- Former Candian Ice Hockey player, she was on the Candian National team for 23 years before retiring. Won four gold medals, one silver medal, and named tournament MVP twice. Along with her teammates, Caroline Ouellette and Jayna Hefford, she holds the record for the most gold medals of any Canadian Olympian, and is “widely considered the greatest female ice hockey player of all time.” Hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs Assistant Director of Player Development in August 2018
Barb Underhill- A former pair skater, worked as a skating commentator for 16 years. She then began working with the Anaheim Ducks, New York Rangers, and Tampa Bay Lightning as a speed coach. In 2011,she was named on The Hockey News's list of the 100 most influential people in ice hockey due to her power skating coaching. In 2012 she was hired as the Skating Consultant for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Becky Hammon- In August 2014, hired by the San Antonio Spurs, Hammon became the first full-time female assistant coach in any of the four major professional sports in North America. First full-time assistant coach in NBA history. She also became the first female Summer League coach in history in July 2015.
The XFL announced each officiating crew will have at least one woman, their article on why is close to what I’m saying here, young girls want to see a future them when they watch games.
Katie Sowers became the first female coach and first openly gay coach in a Super Bowl in 2020.
In January of this year, Alyssa Nakken became the first female to be a full-time coach in MLB
The Washington Redskins have hired Jennifer King as a full-time assistant coach, becoming the first African American female full-time coach
In fact, so often there are men coaching women’s sports and there’s never the argument of “Well he never played softball! What could he know?” And more often than not if he played baseball and coached softball is acceptable because of the similarities between the sports, so why is the opposite not true?
Having female coaches is so important. Maybe not to men, but it sure is important to girls. Little girls now can watch football and maybe they don’t want to play it but maybe they want to coach
I’m willing to bet the majority of female fans do not want dedicated nights to them at ballparks that include pink gear and wine glasses with the team logo as acknowledgement of their fandom. Sure I like the pink Dallas Cowboys shirseys and own a wine glass with the Texas Rangers but it didn’t come with a “Congratulations you’re a certified fan now!” membership card. It’s an insult. It says “oh women won’t be interested in this sport unless it’s a stereotypical feminine color and includes wine!”
You know what does say “hey ya know women might know just as much as men about men’s sports!”? Putting women in coaching positions. Putting them in the front office. Putting more of them in the press box. Having a night for female fans as a forum with women that work sports, a male dominated environment.
Another highlight on Women in sports on a national level, NBCSN will have an all female broadcast for tonight’s NHL game. While my first thought was to say ‘we shouldn’t need a special day to have more than one or two female’s in a broadcast’ but it feels like it’s taking a step for inclusion in the right direction.
And it’s not just a gender disparity in sports that is important to talk about, it’s all minorities. I would feel like I was doing a disservice if I didn’t touch on the other fans that are considered “unconventional” just because I am not a part of those groups considering that’s the entire point of this.
When it comes to the LGBTQ+ community, most teams/leagues do the bare minimum by having a pride night. Or in the St. Louis Blues case, they found a way to do less than the bare minimum by having a watch party for their pride night, not even having it at their own stadium when the whole point of the night is to show that the marginalized community is welcome at the stadium.
Having one day dedicated to “unconventional fans” is not inclusion, it’s a cop out. It’s used to make the team/league/sport inclusive to make up for the gate keeping. (looking at you NHL with your “hockey is for everyone”) How about we make it inclusive all year round? And applied to all teams (looking at you Texas Rangers with your lack of pride nights because “politics” shouldn't be in sports right?)
A good example for Pride Night was the Carolina Hurricanes. Not only did they truly get what it means to be an ally, it seemed especially important that they were so vocal about it considering they’re a team in the south which generally has the most controversial takes when it comes to Pride Nights. Them being so vocal about what Pride Night means also shows that their organization gets it from a whole, from the top of the front office, owners, president, down to their media and marketing teams as well.
Another amazing organization, Black Girl Hockey Club. If you look at any NHL team or the league as a whole, it’s very obvious the lack of diversity in hockey when it comes to race. So for black female hockey fans, they’re excluded twice over. Renee Hess is the founder of Black Girl Hockey Club,”a non-profit focusing on making hockey more inclusive for black women, our family, friends and allies.” There is a great feature about the community that has been created not only online but with meetups at games.
In MLB this season, Kerwin Danley will become the first African American umpire crew chief in MLB and Alfonso Marquez will be the first Hispanic crew chief born outside the US, second overall in MLB history.
All this to show the large strides that have been made for inclusivity in the four main professional sports in the US in the last six years, the last three years, the last year but there is still more that can be done. Not only from leagues, teams, front offices, but as fans too. Being an ally to those that are marginalized, being vocal about the lack of inclusivity and the need for it.
It’s easier to believe in yourself and your goals and your dreams if there are people that look like you doing it already.