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Introduction
Sports in general is a male dominated culture. Historically, athleticism is a hegemonic concept in which the male sports figure reigns supreme, while the female's role is objectified and subordinate. At an early age, male youths are indoctrinated into various sports as a sense of describing their masculinity and providing a connectivity to other males. Women are able to explore sports, but they are not given the same prominent roles and coverage, nor opportunities, as their male counterparts. -
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Women in Sports Broadcasting
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Advocate for Title IX legislation
Donna de VaronaDonna de Varona is a former Gold-medal winning and record setting Olympic swimmer. She was hired by ABC in 1965 at an early age to be one of the first female sportscasters on TV. She also fought for Title IX legislation passage and was a proponent for male and female sports fitness. -
First female sports broadcaster
Jane ChastainJane Chastain became the first female sportscaster in America in 1967. She was hired by the TV station WTVJ in Miami, Fla. In 1974, two years after passage of Title IX, Chastain was hired by CBS where she would be the first woman NFL game announcer. She had to deal with rude male TV crew members. -
NBC sportscaster
Women in SportscastingJeannie Morris became one of the first women to write a sports column for the Daily News. Later, she became a sportscaster and host for a subsidiary of NBC TV. Morris also experienced discrimination, when she was denied press box access at a Bears vs. Vikings NFL game in Mn. She ended up working in the snow. She has since been the first female to receive a Ring Lardner Award. -
Title IX
National Center for Education StatisticsLaw signed by Richard Nixon to protect individuals from sex discrimination in education programs or those receiving federal financial assistance. Examples of discrimination include "sexual harassment, the failure to provide equal opportunity in athletics, and discrimination based on pregnancy." -
No. 1 Female Sportscaster
Title IX, 40 Years laterLesley Visser started her career as a sportswriter in 1974 for the Boston Globe. She became the 1st female beatwriter in 1976 when covering the New England Patriots. She has worked on a multitude of sports including the Super Bowl, Triple Crown, World Series, the Olympics, and Monday Night Football.In 2006, she was inducted into the media section of the Football Hall of Fame. The American Sportscaster Association named her the No.1 Female Sportscaster of All-Time. Title IX changed her career. -
Changing Policies
Women's Sports Foundation"1978, a U.S. federal judge ruled that male and female reporters should have equal access to the locker."
"By the mid 1980s, all four major professional sports leagues (NFL, NHL, NBA, Major League Baseball) had adopted policies in compliance with the U.S. court ruling on equal access, and female sports reporters had become commonplace in the locker room." -
Tennis Star & Sportscaster
Title IX, 40 years laterMary Carillo started her career as a professional tennis player in 1977 and retired in 1980 because of knee injuries. She is a big proponent of Title IX and felt that many of her opportunities were due to that legislation. After playing tennis, Carillo began working as a tennis analyst for USA network in 1980. She has provided coverage for all major men's and women's tennis tournaments, working for CBS, NBC, and HBO. Carillo relates human interest stories about the current tour players. -
Weekly NBC sports anchor
Title IX, 40 years laterGayle Gardner was first hired by ESPN in 1983. She was an anchor for Sports Center. After that, in 1983, she became the first female sports anchor on NBC with a weekly appearance. Gardner also was the first woman to call play-by-play action for a MLB game. Gardner always realized that it took hard work and struggle to advance in this male dominated field. -
Former Basketball player
Women in Sportscasting: A Brief HistoryRobin Roberts is another female sportscaster who started her career as an ex-athlete. She was a highly rated basketball player at Southeastern Louisiana University studying Communications. After graduating in 1983, she worked at a variety of small TV stations as a sports anchor, until landing at ESPN in 1990. There she was an anchor for 15 yrs. on Sports Center. Roberts was particularly good in covering the men's & women's basketball NCAA tournament due to her knowledge. -
ESPN reporter
Bonnie BernsteinBonnie Bernstein attended the University of Maryland's Merrill College of Journalism. Bernstein was the first female sports anchor in 1993 for a local NBC TV show in Nevada. She earned a position at ESPN in 1995. She also worked at CBS for 8 yrs., returned to ESPN, covering premier men's & women's sporting events. She is a proponent of Title IX, indicating that she, too, has benefited from this legislation. -
Fox Sports Announcer
Black women in mediaPam Oliver was hired in 1993 by ESPN. As an African-American woman working in a white male-dominated profession, she had to deal with racism and gender bias constantly. Oliver has explained that hard work, intense studying, and diplomacy helped her to progress far in her field both with athletes and fellow sportscasters. In 1995, she was hired by Fox Sports as an NFL and NBA sideline anchor where she excelled in brief coach and athletic interviews. -
Fox Sports and ESPN reporter
Erin Andrews Erin Andrews began her career with Fox Sports Florida, then as a studio host and reporter in Atlanta. In 2004, Andrews began working for ESPN in different sports as a sideline reporter. She went back to Fox Sports in 2012 and hosted several different college football shows. Unfortunately, she was the victim of a misogynous privacy invasion, when secretly filmed nude in a hotel room by a stalker. This brings to light the difficulties celebrities still encounter. -
HBO's Real Sports
Real Sports with Bryant GumbelAndrea Kremer has worked at ESPN, NBC, over 20 super bowls, and joined HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel in 2007.
Noted as " the best TV interviewer in the business of covering the NFL," by the Los Angeles Times. She believed Title IX changed the way women were perceived in sportscasting. -
Conclusion
As one can see, women have made great strides in the field of sports broadcasting. However, this is tempered by the fact that there is a still-present male hegemonic culture in sports which suppresses female representation and advancement. The harassment and humiliation which the featured sportscasters endured persist today. Advancements in roles for women, on the other hand, can be seen.
