What it’s like to be a woman in the sports industry

We’ve all heard the horror stories of how women sportscasters and journalists are treated in and out of the locker room. Mia O’Brien, Sports Multimedia Journalist for CBS 2 / FOX 28 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Jenna Harner, Sports reporter and anchor at WENY News in Elmira, New York; and Kristen Gowdy, who will start her position as the Media and Marketing Assistant for USA Bobsled & Skeleton in September after a summer internship with The Seattle Times, are living that life, and have inspiring news for future women in the sports industry.

In what way (if any) is your job as a sportscaster/journalist harder because you are female?

Kristen: I think the most annoying thing for me is when people assume that because I’m a woman, I don’t know anything about whatever sport I’m covering. Women in the industry are often looked upon as if they haven’t had the same training as men and don’t know as much about the sports. For me, that’s incredibly frustrating because I have seen so many women, some of which have been my peers, who are just as talented, driven and knowledgeable as the guys.

Jenna: You definitely have to prove yourself a little bit more as a female. There’s this impression that because we’re females in sports, we know less than our male counterparts. Whether it’s because we didn’t play tackle football or men’s lacrosse, we are looked at as being a little bit less knowledgeable. But again, I love how this is a challenge. I want to prove myself, I want to show that yes I do know sports and yes I actually have a sports background.

Mia: The only real answer I have as to anything that “makes it tougher” (and isn’t just all the very nice old people who always make a point to note I am a “girl” – but don’t get in the way of me doing my job) is just that sometimes relating to men, particularly high school boys, can be more difficult for a female reporter than a male reporter. However, as the youngest member of our Sports Department, high school students in general seem to relate to me best (probably because I still look like I should be in high school).

The obvious answer is the “locker room” question. As an intern with News12 New Jersey when I was a rising junior in college (so, give or take, 20-years-old), it wasn’t an option for me to go into the Jets/Giants locker rooms – I was fully expected to walk right in with the rest of the pack of the reporters. My photographer had forewarned me in the car that I certainly would encounter plenty of half-dressed athletes, but there never really was a “so, if you don’t want to…” comment made. I know he trusted me to be professional in that environment, and, moreover, in the 21st century, there is no question of comfortability: you are a journalist, and you are going in. Of course, I must note that this would not be possible without the tireless effort of female journalists who came before me and had to literally fight their way into the locker room for postgame interviews.

Have you ever faced any discrimination while applying for jobs because of your gender? Do you think you have ever lost out on a job because of it?

K: Not that I know of, and no, I don’t think so. I’ve been very lucky to work for some great organizations. I think actually, being female helped in some situations since many companies are trying to diversify their sports staffs. I’ve lost out on plenty of jobs, but I haven’t felt like any of the rejections are gender-related.

J: Not as much, actually I think it helps being a female going into this industry a bit when it comes to hiring. Stations that are looking to be diverse are hiring more and more females, which really excited me. Definitely at the local level the female presence is growing, and it’s starting to make it’s way more and more to the national level.

M: For every job in every career path, I firmly believe many employers have an idea of who best fulfills what’s missing in their “brand”. It’s how you develop a holistic company brand, and I’ve been in a similar position when leading student organizations. Fortunately for me, I have tended to be what’s needed to “fill” that hole in a brand – and I think many females have had similar experiences in recent years. As it becomes “more natural” for a female to be in the locker room, and more supervisors have come to find that females can evoke different, unique stories from athletes their male peers cannot, more females are being sought to fill positions. If anything, I’ve seen and heard men complain about being passed over for a position for a female with less experience because that is who the company is looking for.

Do you have any stories you can share about discrimination or a hardship you had to overcome?

K: The only thing I can really think of here is that I’ve been told to wait outside of the locker room for a media relations employee to grab the players or coaches for me for interviews. It has happened several different times with several different teams, but as I was the only credentialed media around in each instance, I can’t tell you whether it was because I was a woman or because it was their team’s policy.

J: I’ve gone up against males for positions on ICTV (college) shows and when I got the spot, they badmouthed me and said that I didn’t deserve the spot and I was only chosen because I was attractive. It was definitely hard knowing I had done really well at my audition, and here I was being talked about because guys thought I didn’t deserve the spot. It definitely hurt and was very frustrating for me, because I knew I had worked for it. But the criticism gave me a drive, and I worked harder and harder every day to make sure I was creating the best content out there, and sure enough I did well, and the criticism faded into the background.

M: I’m very unique in that any “adversity” or “discrimination” I’ve had to overcome has been more due to my passion/vigor/youth than my gender. Any “discrimination” (or, in my case, not getting to report certain stories/having small, often unspoken conflicts in a work environment) has been due to my position as the “new kid on the block” who gets more opportunities than others may like. This has been from older male and female figures… Since arriving in Iowa last August, I have been met with nothing, but professionalism from my colleagues and the various Iowa athletic outlets.

What advice do you have for any women who want to be in sports but don’t know if they are strong enough to do it?

K: I think just brushing off criticism is the biggest thing. Obviously that doesn’t mean ignoring constructive criticism given to you by your boss or peers, but people can get mean, especially on social media. It doesn’t mean anything. When a woman in sport media makes a mistake, it’s magnified far more than when a man makes the same mistake, so it’s important to have a thick skin.

J: To believe that you can do it. Right now I’m still in shock that this is even happening and that I’m actually doing it, but here I am. It is possible and it’s amazing to see just how far one can go in this industry. Also, many boys/men will try to quiz you when you tell them you’re into sports and that you’re making a career out of it. Just because you don’t know who hit a home run on the third of September in the pouring rain in 1996 for the Mets doesn’t mean you’re not credible. Keep doing what you’re doing and keep pushing boundaries.

M: You’re gonna need thick skin – making deadlines, getting live on-the-air in time, and battling with your producers are, in my opinion, way worse than being in an all-male room. However, if the latter is what gets to you, the good thing is that it’s the easiest to get over. This business is a lot like riding a bike – it’s gonna be tough the first few times. You’re gonna have bruises or mess-up’s. You’re gonna veer off the wrong path at some point. But eventually you get the hang of it (then they give you a tougher hill to bike—or job—but at least you’ve learned how to patch up those bruises!).