Jaylin Smith
Professor Dissinger
WRIT 340
18 October, 2023
Writing Paper #2
Media is one of the largest forms of communication, which is often manipulated by live television, social media, and entertainment companies to feed us content they want us to consume. By no means is sports excluded from the conversation. In fact, major streaming platforms like ESPN and FOX bid on televised sporting events, often opting for the most sought out games. While these companies hunt for the most marketable content, they are inevitably creating a gender gap within sports, as seen through the lens of entertainment. In this paper, I will be discussing how TV viewership and social media content is geared towards the male audience in sport, which in turn is harming women from fulfilling a successful career outside and within sports.
My earliest memories of sports revolve around watching football, and when it wasn’t football, it was usually basketball. In my family, we rarely, if ever, tuned in to women’s sports or knew of household-name female athletes compared to their male counterparts. Recently, there has been a growing focus on women’s sports, prompting discussions about whether this increased attention stems from genuine interest within the media or is merely a result of diversity and inclusion protocols. It is worth noting that influential figures like the late Kobe Bryant became champions of women’s sports following their careers. While women do not require validation from men to prove their talent, the support of successful male athletes has, to some extent, been an effective way to garner media attention (Nguyen, 2020). When Kobe Bryant tragically passed away, two images circulated on social media that solidified his legacy as a supporter of women’s sports. One showed him wearing a bright orange WNBA hoodie while attending his final NBA game, and the other depicted him courtside, coaching his daughter Gigi during a game. These images underlined his dedication to the progression of women’s sports. Since then, we’ve seen more prominent male figures in the sports world, such as Tom Brady and Stephen Curry, who have drawn inspiration from his example and have continued to champion his legacy. Yet, a crucial question persists: why does the involvement of men remain necessary for the media to cover women’s sports and attract any meaningful attention?”
Television viewership in the world of sports predominantly focuses on male-dominated sports, where the demand and marketability are most evident, ensuring continued viewer engagement. To illustrate, when considering the sale of sports tickets, supply and demand play a crucial role. Selling tickets for football and basketball is considerably easier than for baseball due to the higher frequency of games in a collective season. In contrast, women’s sports have often been portrayed as unmarketable by the media. WNBA arenas frequently grapple with limited attendance, and women’s sports tend to receive more attention only during the Olympics, turning many into temporary gymnastics or track and field enthusiasts. The unequal support for women’s sports is unmistakably mirrored in the media landscape, as the availability of women’s beach volleyball games on ESPN pales in comparison to the extensive coverage of college football games. Still, we must understand the limitations the media contributes to women, especially in the new space of NIL. For athletes like Angel Reese, reigning LSU NCAA Champion, and Juju Watkins, number one recruit in her class, the experiences of NIL differ from athletes with less accolades or super star status. Angel Reese just signed her first shoe deal alongside Reebok, and in the space of basketball, getting a shoe deal is a big time. Juju attended the Pac-12 Media Day earlier this October and said “I’m blessed to be in this position that I am in this time and space in women’s basketball.” It is important to understand that while the space of women’s sports is growing, it is an inequitable system.
I had a conversation with Rayah Marshall and Clarice Akunwafo, both members of the USC Women’s Basketball team, discussing their experiences as women in the realm of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) in collegiate sports. Our dialogue commenced with an exploration of how navigating NIL has impacted their journey. Rayah emphasized her appreciation for NIL opportunities while acknowledging their comparatively lower prominence in female collegiate sports. She pointed out that House of Victory, her first NIL Collective, allocates only a third of the resources to female athletes in contrast to their male counterparts. She also highlighted the discrepancy in translating talent into NIL deals, as her exceptional skills have not translated into the same financial benefits when compared to mediocre male athletes. Conversely, Clarice held a distinct perspective on NIL. She shared that she hadn’t invested as much effort in the NIL space, reasoning that the work invested in the system did not yield equitable financial outcomes. She articulated, “I feel it’s discouraging women, who have to put in significantly more effort for brand deals, yet earn substantially less than male athletes.” These revelations about their experiences, particularly concerning gender wage disparities, prompted me to consider the role of the media in perpetuating this inequitable system. Clarice argued, “I don’t perceive it as a matter of sexism; it’s more a result of the sports industry being fundamentally driven by business. It’s a recognized fact that male sports generate higher revenues than female sports.”
While we can certainly comprehend the commercial aspect of the sports industry and acknowledge the historical preference for male athletes based on their athleticism, it is imperative that we delve deeper into the role of media, particularly through the prisms of social media and television viewership. Media often seems to cast the spotlight on female athletes primarily when they achieve recognition from male audiences or engage in activities that captivate male attention. This phenomenon underscores a larger issue within the sports and media landscape, where the focus on female athletes remains contingent on catering to male interests and perspectives. This not only perpetuates gender disparities but also reinforces stereotypes and expectations of how female athletes should be presented and marketed. Such an approach restricts the full range of achievements and narratives that female athletes can offer, contributing to an unequal portrayal of their abilities and accomplishments. In order to promote gender equality in the sports industry, it is essential that media and sports companies move beyond these traditional, male-centric narratives and recognize the value of female athletes on their own merits, irrespective of male approval or attention. By fostering a more inclusive and diverse representation of female athletes, we can help challenge these biases and create a more equitable and empowering environment for women in sports.
Taking these disparities into account, I inquired about the challenges Rayah and Clarice face in terms of streaming their games and how this contrasts with the experience of the men’s team. Rayah shared her frustration, stating, “It’s tough. When my family wants to watch my games, they have to navigate through various obscure networks and create accounts. However, when it’s time to watch my cousin play for the BYU football team, they can effortlessly locate those games on widely available cable channels.” This discrepancy, especially in 2023, where women’s sports remain largely absent from televised broadcasts, is disheartening. From a parental perspective, being unable to witness your child participate in a Division I game while other sports within the same institution are readily televised can be exceedingly exasperating. This situation underscores the persisting disparities within the world of sports. Clarice’s experience echoes Rayah’s sentiments, as she explains, “In men’s basketball, games are consistently streamed on major networks like ESPN and FOX, channels accessible to cable subscribers, making it effortless for family and friends to tune in with just a few clicks. In contrast, women’s games are not featured on popular TV channels, requiring female athletes’ family members to incur additional costs on obscure websites to access live streams.” With this in mind, these disparities in media coverage and accessibility further emphasize the need for equitable representation and recognition of women’s sports in the broader sports landscape.
Moving forward, we must understand the comprehensive exploration of the prevailing gender disparities in sports media, highlighting the detrimental effects these inequities have on women’s participation in sports and their access to opportunities such as Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals. The pervasive focus on male-dominated sports in television viewership and social media content, driven by the pursuit of marketability, continues to reinforce a gender gap within the world of sports, perpetuating traditional stereotypes and expectations. While understanding how influential male figures, like Kobe Bryant, have played a crucial role in advocating for women’s sports, drawing attention to their endeavors posed a critical question: why should the involvement of men be necessary for the media to cover women’s sports and attract meaningful attention? This points to a fundamental issue within the sports and media landscape. Moreover, we must continue to advocate for the challenges women face in the realm of NIL, where gender wage disparities persist, with female athletes having to put in significantly more effort for brand deals that yield substantially less than their male counterparts. The media’s role in perpetuating this system, despite the commercial realities of the sports industry, has been brought to light and in order to rectify these disparities and promote gender equality in sports, it is imperative for media and sports companies to move beyond traditional, male-centric narratives and recognize the value of female athletes on their individual merits. By fostering a more inclusive and diverse representation of female athletes, we can challenge these biases and create a more equitable and empowering environment for women in sports. Taking into account the experiences of athletes like Rayah Marshall and Clarice Akunwafo, who highlighted the obstacles they face in streaming their games, the disparities in media coverage and accessibility have been underscored. It is clear that these challenges further emphasize the urgent need for equitable representation and recognition of women’s sports in the broader sports landscape. In a world where social media and television hold significant influence, addressing these issues is essential not only for women athletes but for the progress and fairness of the entire sports industry. Only by recognizing and rectifying these disparities can we hope to create a more inclusive and equal future for women in sports.
References
LSU All-American Angel Reese signs endorsement deal with Reebok. (2023, October 17). Retrieved October 17, 2023, from AP News website: https://apnews.com/article/lsu-angel-reese-reebok-ad7e2d36ed68f9322df97ea0f4e0e4f7
Thuc Nhi Nguyen. (2020, January 29). Kobe Bryant became champion of women’s sports after career. Retrieved from Los Angeles Times website: https://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/story/2020-01-28/kobe-bryant-became-champion-of-womens-sports-after-career
