Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving weekend saw an almost constant stream of sports broadcasts flood the American airwaves. From the three nationally televised NFL football games on Thanksgiving Day to the women and men’s NCAA basketball tournaments that were taking place across the country, there were always contests to be had. However, as we know, not all contests are treated equally.
As Sabrina Ionescu, of the WNBA’s New York Liberty, tweeted over the weekend: “I wish I could open my social media and see highlights about Women’s sports. ESPN, Sportcenter, Bleacher Report etc. post about the NBA, NFL and Men’s NCAA right now. There are so many top 25 teams battling in the Women’s NCAA right now, with NO coverage. Do Better.”
Did you know there was also a division one women’s soccer tournament happening over Thanksgiving weekend? Most people didn’t.
A new Marist poll shows the demand for coverage of women’s games is higher than ever (as Ionescu clearly voiced). Without sites like our own SEW, Just Women’s Sports, and ESPN W, women’s sports coverage wouldn’t regularly be making the front page. In 2021 it still takes a specific search for women’s sports, rather than sports news in general, to bring up the best and the brightest of female athletes. That’s absurd.
There is an audience, capital, and passion to be had and harnessed. It’s time for the big names in broadcasting (and even sports betting) to stop pretending that only men’s sports can and will draw the eyes and the dollars. That would be something we could all be thankful for.
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