Kayla Schorr

W/R #14, TA #2
COMM231 0101
Oct. 26, 2015
A#2: Women in Sports Mainbar

Journalists discuss women in sports

Five panelists examine womens roles in sports
Panelists discuss the rise and fall of women athletes
The U.S. dominated the 2015 FIFA Womens World Cup, Serena Williams holds
four consecutive Grand Slam titles and the WNBA is heading into its 20th year; however,
mens sports still seem to sequester all of the media coverage.
During a speech on Tuesday, Oct. 13 in Knight Hall, five sports journalists spoke
at a panel regarding women in sports after the World Cup.
The rise of womens sports
The speakers discussed many different topics under the umbrella of women in
sports, including womens
overlooked talent, presentation in
the media and expectations
audiences unfairly place upon
them.

Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism

panelists discuss women in sports.
Photo by Kayla Schorr

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K. Schorr, W/R #14, TA #2, A#2: Women in Sports Mainbar, p. 2

Kelly Mehrtens, university deputy athletics director, said that the Womens World
Cup garnered approximately 26.7 million viewers. The nation decided to tune in, she
said, explaining that there are clearly viewers willing and available to watch womens
sports. Mehrtens then expressed her confusion as to why one womens event can
assemble such a large audience, but others seem incapable of doing so.
In the 1996 Olympics, the U.S. womens basketball team won the gold medal,
which increased the teams marketing and launched the Womens National Basketball
Association (WNBA). Americans honored the successes of women basketball players at
this time, which showed potential for the growth of womens sports in America. As the
panelists explained, this potential growth did not flourish.
Targeting focus elsewhere
Basketball commentator Christy Winters-Scott said that many Americans simply
do not associate women with sports. There arent even female avatars in a lot of current
sports videogames, Winters-Scott said.
According to CQ Researcher, many people believe that aggressiveness and
physical and mental strength are proper traits for men only; they frown upon the passive
male and the aggressive female. The panelists also said that it is typical for the average
American to prioritize a womans beauty over her athletic abilities.

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K. Schorr, W/R #14, TA #2, A#2: Women in Sports Mainbar, p. 3

Junior broadcast journalism major Lauren Bork attended the women in sports
panel and agreed that audiences focus too much attention on women athletes
appearances. She said she was disappointed that after Carli Lloyd scored a hat trick in the
Womens World Cup final, the No. 1 trend on Twitter was Alex Morgan.
People care more about a womans body than what that body accomplished,
said Bork.
After the panelists spoke about the growing notion that Americans do not link
women with athletic abilities, they spoke about the adversities of being a female athlete
in the public spotlight. Athletes like Serena Williams constantly receive appearance
related ridicule, while Maria Sharapova gains great acclaim because of her beauty.
When youre a woman, its about appearance, panelist and senior journalism
major Chloe Pavlech said. We need to redefine what beauty is.