What Girls See And Hear
Blog #2
3-25-21
The Message Girls Hear and See
By now, I am sure many of you have seen or heard about the photo that went viral of gym equipment at the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournament. Sedona Prince, a University of Oregon women’s basketball player, tweeted a video of the women’s weight and training room in San Antonio, Texas. She compared that to the men’s weight and training room in Indianapolis, Indiana. The women’s weight room consisted of one rack of barbells and a few yoga mats. The men’s included an entire weight room complex.
Nell Fortner, the Georgia Tech women's basketball coach, summed it up perfectly in a tweet “Thank you (NCAA) for using the three biggest weeks of your organization's year to expose exactly how you feel about women's basketball - an afterthought.” Fortner went on to note that in addition to facilities, COVID testing, and food choice availability were also subpar in comparison to men.
The NCAA, a non-profit organization of which its mission statement reads: We put our money where our mission is: equipping student-athletes on the playing field, in the classroom, and in life. Nowhere does it state that the NCAA will spend more resources on male athletes than female athletes. But, that is exactly what happened! These are amatuer athletes that are all held to the same standard. They put in equal amounts of time and effort to remain in good standing with NCAA requirements to play at the Division I level. I know how difficult it is to compete, study, and travel as a former collegiate student athlete. Women’s sports were second tier to men’s sports then in 1980, and apparently not much has changed.
Today, there is still not enough representation of women in coaching, broadcasting, athletic directors, public speaking and announcing. And, from middle school thru high school girls participation lags behind boys in almost every sport that has both teams, especially basketball.(read the first blog article)
Some have responded kindly and supportive to these issues. Unfortunately, some have responded with an attitude that is unacceptable. Such as:” I would rather watch men play basketball over women because it is more interesting.” or “Men’s basketball makes more money therefore deserves more amenities and attention.” We are all free to watch and support whatever team we choose. But, denigrating female athletes in the process needs to stop. What message does that send to young female athletes? It says to them that they are not important, do not matter, and are of no value. Would any of you say that to your 14 year old daughter? “I am not going to your game tonight because the boys games are more interesting.” I would hope not!
The dismissiveness and denigration of women's sports starts at an early age, somewhere in about middle school girls are mocked by boys about their sports skills. Athletic directors overlook the needs of girls even down to uniforms. Girls often wear ill-fitted boys uniforms or outdated uniforms. In 2012, my daughter’s freshmen year of high school, the girls wore basketball uniforms from 1995 at the freshmen level, and old boys uniforms for junior varsity. I still notice this to be the case. Some boys basketball teams wear matching sweats, uniforms and even shoes. The girls have no sweats, poorly fitted uniforms, and shoes that are not appropriate for basketball. We are in the year 2021, and Title IX of the Education Amendment Act became law in 1972. That law was put into place to promote gender equity in all sports at every level. The NCAA is supposed to be the gold standard of athletics.
The title IX law is an important part of ensuring gender equality. However, it is the attitude and culture that needs to change as well. We still have an enormous amount of work to do. It starts with the message women hear at the national collegiate level, and local high school/middle schools. We need resources so that all girls can play with appropriate attire and have needed equipment. AND, from college to middle school young women and girls need to feel that they are valued, and what they do is important.
As a public address announcer, I see and hear everything from the benches to the court or playing field. Far too many times, I have witnessed poor role modeling from coaches, parents and fellow students. Here are some examples:
A varsity volleyball coach was unhappy with the team effort, called time out and demanded the team do pushups while the crowd watched. The team lost and left the floor humiliated with their heads down.
A varsity basketball coach completely denigrated a girls confidence when he screamed to her face that she didn’t deserve to play because the team had two NCAA division 1 players ahead of her. Her team was winning by 25 points and it was late in the 4th quarter. She left in tears.
A junior varsity basketball coach told a player she was an embarrassment to the team as she walked off the floor. She refused to go back into the game when called up.
At an end of the year awards assembly, the head coach was recognizing one of the seniors players. He stated, “The reason you are good is because you shoot the ball like a guy.”
A group of high school boys mocked the opposing team’s junior varsity volleyball player. The officials called them out and requested they leave the gymnasium.
These comments and behaviors do not encourage girls, it disparages them. There is no place for this anywhere in any sport. I have never been in an awards assembly where a male athlete was complimented because he played like a girl. Nor, have I ever seen boys wearing ill-fitted girls’ uniforms. We need strong role models that encourage female athletes and appreciate what they bring to the game because they are just that….a girl!!!