Even if you are not a huge sports fan, it was almost impossible to miss the attention that Caitlin Clark, the 22-year-old basketball star playing for University of Iowa in NCAA March Madness, was earning including from NBA Superstar Steph Curry.
Read MoreIssue 240 — September 4, 2023
Philosopher William James called sports “the moral equivalent of war.”
That’s an inherently patriarchal lens on sports. Everything in that framework is about power and power in turn is about war and fighting, with the assumption that someone has to win, someone has to lose, and there’s no in-between.
Read More“There is not anything that empowers girls and women the way sports do,” says Donna Lopiano, President and Founder of Sports Management Resources, at the recent conference, “Title IX at 50: Past, Present, Future,” spanning three days of events at Northwestern University.
Read MoreEvery player on the winningest United States women’s soccer team in history was a part of a gender discrimination lawsuitagainst the U.S. Soccer Federation recently, with the explicit goal to close the gender pay gap that unfairly compensates women in the sport.
Read MoreWe don’t need another example to know what’s up. Cam Newton, NFL star with the Carolina Panthers, had just recently disrespected a female journalist by mocking her in a press conference.
Read MoreAre you ready for some football? A better question might be, is American football ready for more women leaders?
During this freshly launched football season, tune into network television any time Saturday or Sunday, then Sunday or Monday evenings, and you will likely witness a college-level or NFL football game. What you will not see often are women who are coaching, managing or even viewing from the sky boxes or front offices as leaders in the league.
Read MoreAs humans, we care a lot about winning. As women leaders and competitors in the workplace, we may care a whole lot more.
The literal finger-wagging battle signifying who is No. 1 in the Rio 2016 Olympics swimming competitions between USA gold medalist Lilly King and Russian silver medalist Yulia Efimova has been dramatic and perhaps non-diplomatic. King turned her win into a platform against doping in competition and touted hers as a clean victory. She later apologized.
Read MoreWhen I was about 10 years old, six-time Olympic medalist Amanda Beard visited my community swim team. We all sat by the pool as she passed around one of her medals and spoke to us about discipline, passion, hard work and the importance of giving it your all.
Read MoreU.S. women’s soccer team star Abby Wambach announced her retirement last week, ending a 15-year career that saw her become the all-time leading goal scorer in international matches (male or female).
Read MoreOn Sunday night, Jessica Mendoza became the first woman to announce a Sunday Night Baseball broadcast for ESPN. And she killed it.
Read MoreThe NFL is really stepping up its gender equality game in 2015. On Monday, the Arizona Cardinals announced that Jen Welter will join its coaching ranks as an assistant coaching intern for training camp and the preseason. She is the NFL’s first female coach of any kind.
Read MoreTheodore Roosevelt once wrote, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” At a time when we, as Americans, should be celebrating Serena Williams’s Wimbledon victory, we are reading and talking about her body. We are comparing her body shape and size to other women in the sport. We are printing articles about what Williams, herself, has said to criticize her own body in the past. And, as we continue to beat the topic and perfect the art of comparison, we are robbing her, as well as anyone else who follows, of the opportunity for joy. The joy of sweet victory.
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