...we're going to get a lot of lip service about gender equity in sports. Yes, if you're an intercollegiate basketball fan, it's a good time of the year. If you're a basketball fan (or a quasi one like myself) and a fan of gender equity, it's kind of frustrating.
The good news is that ESPN changed its ticker (a while ago) to NCAAM and NCAAW. The bad news of course that goes uncommented on during the tournament is that it is nearly impossible to find coverage of women's basketball on ESPN during the regular season. I'm not talking about game coverage. They do air games on a semi-regular basis. But on highlight shows such as Sports Center. There is no conversation about the games when the games stop airing.
But this is just ESPN who has to make an effort because they actually air all of the women's tournament. The men's tournament is on CBS and ESPN.
Other media outlets do not have the same commitment. This I realized once again today when I tried to figure out when the selection shows were airing. I knew one was today and one was tomorrow. So I googled.
And what I found most prominently were articles about Selection Sunday. And thus I knew that Selection Sunday was the men's selection show. Because there was no adjective involved. And there was alliteration. Men get alliteration; women get adjectives and Monday time slots.
Then add to all this the discourse about UConn's streak accompanied by all those serious faces and pursed commentator lips about whether this is good or bad for the women's game and there's going to have to be a lot of index finger action this tournament--pressing the mute button.
1 comment:
I set up a special section for myself on Google News. Stories (and blog posts) with the words "women's basketball" are sorted into it. I then skim the first sentences and decide what to read. I can also search within the section by name, place, etc. Saves a lot of time!
p.s. I do not work for Google!
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