Gaining Yards

Part of shifting the narrative around women’s sports, is showing that women belong in the sports conversation—period. It’s relatively common for women’s sports to have female broadcasters and reporters coming to you live from the sidelines, pitches, and courts. But it’s less common to see a woman in the booth, dropping stats, analyzing plays and sharing their perspectives when it comes to men’s games. And while there is obviously still a lot of that needs to change, it does seem like things are slowly starting to shift.

Just this year, Doris Burke became the first female analyst on ESPN’s lead NBA broadcast team. Andraya Carter will be the first woman with a permanent role on the network’s College GameDay show. Stéphanie Frappart was the first woman to officiate a men’s international match at Wembley. 

Beyond the booth, women are also making moves and finding success at back-of-house and leadership positions for men’s sports. Kim Ng, the GM for MLB’s Miami Marlins, was the first female GM to lead a team to the playoffs this year. Alyssa Nakken is rumored to be in talks with the San Francisco Giants for a managerial position, which would make her the first female manager in the league…ever. 

These moves don’t just help bring women’s voices into the conversation, they dispel this misguided idea that there’s a lack of credibility when it comes to women having a seat at the table. Too often when it’s reported that a woman is taking any kind of position at men’s games, male fans freak out. They yell and they tweet and complain that a woman can’t possibly call an NFL game because they’ve never played professional football! Mind you the comment is normally coming from a man who is armchair quarterbacking from the comforts of his own home. It’s a shallow argument meant to demean and belittle the women who have put in the work and deserve to be the one holding the mic. 

And while sports like the NBA, MLB and international soccer are making some progress, it’s worth noting that the NFL—which brings in some of the highest ratings for major TV networks—doesn’t yet have a permanent female broadcaster in their booths. Yes, they absolutely have women who call games, and a decent amount of female sideline reporters, but as of this post, not a single woman has become a fixture within any of their weekly broadcasts. 

All that said, with men’s sports getting significantly more visibility, having analysts like Burke and Carter, and managers like Ng and potentially Nakken, be front-and-center, is just another way to elevate the power of women in this male-dominated industry. 

In the end, the goal is, and will always be, to get women’s sports more airtime. But that airtime doesn’t just extend to the athletes playing. It’s just as important for the women calling and making the plays.