Happy opening day! It’s that time again; it’s time for baseball. On April 1, Major League Baseball (MLB) began its regular 2021 season. From what I saw on social media, everyone is hyped. Their favorite players are taking the field once again, ready to partake in the greatest game in the world. To be honest, I’m a little excited to catch some games on my TV.
Baseball is widely known as America’s favorite pastime. It’s embedded in our past, and it’s written in our future. It’s the center of many classic movies, such as A League of Their Own, and Field of Dreams (if you build it, they will come). As you know already, other loved sports include men’s football, hockey, and basketball. Sports are a part of us, in one way or another; they’re a gift in my life that I treasure.
I know the MLB and other men’s sports are widely enjoyed by many, but as a woman, sometimes I have a hard time getting on board. When it’s time to begin a new season, I often sit back and reflect on why I don’t enjoy watching men’s sports. I love sports, so what’s the issue? I come to the conclusion that women’s sports don’t receive the same excitement and recognition as men’s, and as a softball player, this bothers me.
My conclusion is simply a fact, as women athletes receive only 4% of all sports viewership. The 2015 NCAA men’s basketball championship game had 28.3 million viewers, as compared to 3.1 million viewers for the women’s championship. Both were aired on ESPN. The issue of low viewership when comparing men’s sports to women’s is not a new issue. I believe that viewership equates to general recognition and respect, which women’s sports deserve more of.
In addition, the pay rate for women is much lower than men when it comes to sports. I’m sure we are all well aware that the United States women’s soccer team sued the U.S. Soccer Federation for gender discrimination in March of 2019. They explained that although their views are higher than men’s soccer, they receive significantly less pay. In June of 2020, pro softball player Delanie Gourley explained that her professional contract is less than the salary of the Yankee’s bat boy. To put it in numbers, the salary cap for professional softball is $175,000 compared to 4 million for MLB.
Although I’ve pointed out a lot of negatives, there are some positive achievements to note. In July 2020, a match up on ABC between the Los Angeles Sparks and Phoenix Mercury averaged 540,000 viewers, which is the most watched opener since 2012. College softball has seen a large increase in viewership as well, in the form of a 40% increase in regular-season watchers as of March 2020. We can see viewership is increasing, but in my opinion, it’s not nearly at the level it deserves.
I know I just explained a lot of facts and numbers, but hopefully, it opened your eyes to an issue that female athletes are facing right now. Although we are seeing improvements, I think it’s vital that we push for even greater ones. I wish for young girls to love sports just as much as I do, and inspire them to develop their own success stories with high reward and recognition. In order to spark change, it’s vital to empower young athletes by showing them that there is a future for them and that they too can create their very own opening day that everyone will tune in for.
I’ll leave you with this quote by soccer player Megan Rapinoe: “We very much believe it is our responsibility, not only for our team and for future U.S. players, but for players around the world—and frankly women all around the world—to feel like they have an ally in standing up for themselves, and fighting for what they believe in, and fighting for what they deserve and for what they feel like they have earned.”
Girl Talk is an Opinion column written by a current female student to discuss issues surrounding women, whether it be feminism, current events, personal experiences at Stevens or in life, and more.
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