The Evolution of Women In Sports Journalism
Joan Ryan was a copy editor on the news side for the Orlando Sentinel in 1981, before making her way to the sports department. While covering the USFL she experienced her first taste of what it was like to be a woman working in this field at that time.
“I happened to be the first reporter down in the clubhouse, once they saw me, there was a stunned silence for about half a second and then the entire place just erupted into laughter and name calling. They were trying to humiliate me,” Ryan said.
If you take a look back, women have come a long way in our society. According to “Women in Sports Journalism,” it wasn’t until Title IX that more women started participating in organized sports. Once there were more women participating in sports, more women started reporting on sports.
There are more media outlets today than ever and writers are working to get their stories out on all platforms. It is becoming more common that women are reporting and covering sports. But before the 20th century women had to jump through hoops just to do their jobs covering sports.
And there’s still a long way to go.
In the narrative, “Locker rooms and Women Reporters: A to Z”, written by former Sports Illustrated writer Julie DiCaro, she discusses several incidents where women sports reporters faced challenges gaining access to professional locker rooms and clubhouses in the 1970’s. She even includes some incidents of sexual harassment that took place.
While being a woman working in sports journalism isn’t nearly as challenging as it was in the past, women still are not on equal footing today. There are still comments being made to women reporters, the occasional harassment issues, and the challenge of having to prove they deserve to be there as much as anyone else.
In the last decade there have been articles written on various women sports reporters who have faced these issues. Widely known sportscaster, Erin Andrews, has made several headlines dealing with similar incidents. The Globe and Mail published an article in 2013 telling the stories of several individuals who faced some form of harassment or disrespect while on the job.
Melissa Ludtke opened many doors for women sports journalists when she became the first woman allowed in the locker room in 1978. Women gaining access to the locker room was one of the biggest accomplishments for women sports reporters. But, it was only one obstacle that was overcome and Ludtke wasn’t the only woman who helped pave the way for women sports journalists.
Ryan traces her memory back to this specific game, she said, “I’m this younger reporter and Orlando didn’t at the time have any professional sports teams except for when the USFL came to town, and so my job was to do a story on the opposing team which was the Birmingham Stallions.”
That night after the game Ryan was on a mission to find and interview running back, Joe Cribbs.
Ryan said, “I went down when the game was over and I pushed open the door into the locker room. Guys were walking back and forth in front of me, various stages of undressed, from the showers to the locker room, locker room to the showers.”
While searching for Cribbs, Ryan was standing near a bench where a player was cutting up tape when she felt something on her leg. When she looked down she saw he was running the handle of his razor up the hem of her skirt.
“I said, ‘What are you doing?’ and I turned around to leave,” Ryan said. “The owner of the team was standing in the doorway, totally entertained by the whole thing. Everyone was laughing, they all found it hilarious.”
After that incident Ryan knew she wanted to make a career out of this. She took her bitterness and frustration towards those men and used it to drive her. She said, “It was at that moment that it was clear they didn’t want me around, they didn’t want me or any women to be there, and that’s when I started to really want to be a sports writer.”
Since then things have drastically changed for women in the sports reporting field. Women like Katie Witham, who worked as a sideline reporter for the Cleveland Indians for four years and currently covers MLS and USA soccer for Fox Sports, agrees that things have improved but still aren’t where they need to be.
Witham said, “I think just in the last three to four years alone the world has changed its view on women and the landscape is now completely different.”
Though things have changed throughout the years, women are still finding that they have to prove themselves before gaining the trust of their coworkers, peers and the fans.
Ryan said, “There is an assumption that you don’t know what you’re doing if you’re female and you have to show that you do, and when a man shows up there is an assumption he does know and he’d have to show that he doesn’t. That dynamic definitely still exists.”
With social media being so popular, online harassment is a huge problem in society today. It’s easier now for fans to chime in and give their opinions on all content, including that by women sports reporters.
Witham said, “I felt like I had to do twice as much and know that much more than my male counterparts to be taken seriously. I still feel like that to a certain extent.”
The Odyssey published a story in 2016 titled, “More than Mean: Female Sports Reporters and Harassment.” The anti-bullying campaign chose several men and asked them to read out loud cruel comments made on social media directed toward women sports reporters. Reporters like Sarah Spain and Julie DiCaro were featured in the campaign video. Due to the vulgar and inappropriate language used in many of the comments most of the men had to take long pauses or even stop while reading them.
Being a woman in this field you can’t let all of the things you hear fans or even co-workers say to you, whether that be in person or online, disturb you. “Always be really prepared, don’t take anything personally even if they say it personally. It’s never about you, it’s always about them,” said Ryan.
Mandy Bell, a beat reporter for MLB.com said, “It’s more of breaking through, and once you’re in, as long as you prove you know what you’re talking about and you don’t do anything to lose trust with people, they give you the benefit of the doubt right away.”
As the world evolves, new aspects of society are being introduced and things are changing. There are still issues that need to be addressed and there is still more progress to be made for women in this industry, but it is much more black and white than it used to be.
Ever since Ryan transitioned from the sports reporting field to taking on the position of the San Francisco Giants media advisor she said, “I’m still in the clubhouse a ton, we have women sports writers and sideline reporters. So I do get to observe it. I think it’s fairly true that instead of there being an expectation that you would get harassed as a woman, now, there’s the expectation that you will be treated exactly like all the men who come into the clubhouse or locker room.”
