Short Assignment 2
“Olympic Sports Coverage Celebrates Inclusivity and Equality”…Said No Female Olympian Ever
During the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, female Olympic athletes received more prime-time coverage than ever before — but it is still no where close to the amount of time male athletes get on TV.
However, the obvious sexist commentary on women’s Olympic sporting events has stolen the attention of fans around the world. Even social media platforms, such as Twitter, have caught onto to this phenomenon and have turned the absurdity of this sexist coverage into a sport itself.
I mean forget the Ryan Lochte scandal, the real quality entertainment is in the commentary coverage of women’s sports. No matter how progressive American society may seem to get, male sports announcers never fail to impress.
One of my personal favorite quotes is of an NBC commentator covering the 400-meter individual medley when Hungarian swimmer, Katinka Hosszú, crushed the world record and won gold.
As the camera panned from a smiling Katinka basking in glory over to her husband, and coach, the NBC reporter stunned the nation by saying, “there’s the man that made it all happen…the person responsible for her performance” (Feller).
Was this reporter just plain sexist or confused by a woman accomplishing something on her own and just had to give the credit to her husband?
Another good one is when the ever-classy Ryan Lochte downplayed Katie Ledecky’s success in a Sports Illustrated article.
“She swims like a guy. Her stroke, her mentality: She’s so strong in the water. I’ve never seen a female swimmer like that. She gets faster every time she gets in, and her times are becoming good for a guy. She’s beating me now, and I’m, like, ‘What is going on?’”(Feller).
But Lochte didn’t stop there.
He went on to say in an article for USA Today to say, “This girl is doing respectable times for guys” (Feller).
Another hilarious — but quite sad — moment in sports coverage graced the nation when Fox News panelists debated whether or not female gymnasts and other female Olympic athletes should be allowed to wear makeup. The host of the segment, Tamara Holder, was quoted as saying:
“We all know that old adage, sex sells. Well now female Olympians are sexing it up more than ever by wearing makeup during their competitions. Some say this is about empowerment. Well, really? Do women who are elite athletes need to wear makeup to feel stronger or is it simply a fashion statement like when LeBron James wears funny hats?” (Feller).
Does Tamara Holder feel the need to wear makeup on set to feel bold enough to say such ridiculously sexist comments? Probably not. She probably wears it to feel confident just like those gymnasts.
Who cares if these gymnasts wear makeup, anyways? If it makes them feel more confident and happy to wear makeup more power to them. And shouldn’t these panelists be discussing these athletes talent and strength like they do with male athletes? I’m sure they don’t sit and have heated debates over male Olympic athletes wardrobe choices.
Sports reporters and commentators need to recognize their sexist remarks and give credit where credit is due.
Works Cited
Feeney, Nolan. “A Brief History of Sexism in TV Coverage of the Olympics.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 21 Feb. 2014, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/02/a-brief-history-of-sexism-in-tv-coverage-of-the-olympics/284003/.
Feller, Madison. “14 Of the Most Sexist Moments From the 2016 Olympics (So Far).”Cosmopolitan, Cosmopolitan, 16 Mar. 2018, www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/news/a62634/sexist-moments-2016-rio-olympics/.
