After Atalanta

This week ESPN suspended and then fired or "let go" 68-year old reporter/commentator Ron Franklin. Franklin called one of his colleagues, Jeannine Edwards, "sweet baby" during a meeting. When Edwards noted her displeasure with his condescending demeanor, Franklin called her an asshole. Franklin was supposed to work the Fiesta Bowl but was relieved of that assignment and was subsequently fired. Cheers from some on this matter. Jeers from others. Some (anonymous commenters) say ESPN is "to (sic) PC" and that Franklin is a far better reporter than little known Edwards who apparently needs bigger breasts in order for any of this to matter. (Seriously, there is nothing better for checking one's gag reflex than reading the comments on some of these stories. These are all from the above link.) A more thoughtful piece of writing came from Lori Heine at News Real Blog . Given that Ms. Heine describes herself as a recovering leftist, I knew what was coming. And,...

The Monday morning quarterbacking was all about the Patriots' second half demise yesterday. Nothing about the battle of the locker room bullies. (That I saw. If there was any kind of comment--please send me the link!!) Apparently I was the only one who saw the intrigue in having one team whose harassment of a female reporter made national news twenty years ago take on another team whose harassment of a female reporter made national news just last week. I guess karma really isn't a bitch. Anyway, that's not really what I want to be talking about. I wanted to go back to the Erin Andrews/Ines Sainz comparisons made in the aftermath of Sainz's statements that she had been subject to inappropriate comments in the Jets locker room. The discourse was about whether Sainz was more self-sexualizing than Andrews. And I come down on the "it so doesn't matter"side of the debate. Why? Because our culture is doing a fantabulous job sexualizing these women all on its own...

Not sure why I am so averse to discussing the more hyped stories. I guess I like discovering the little ones and sharing them. But some are just unavoidable and it seems the harassment of a female reporter by some Jets players last weekend is going to be one of those stories. In this case, I think I resent that we are still having these conversations; that people think things are fine and dandy because "progress" has been made and then shock and outrage occurs when such an incident is revealed. I, myself, was called out a few months ago for noting that female sports reporters are still subject to harassment. I could do the I-told-you-so dance, but I have no desire to dance over such a situation. In case you have no idea what I am talking about, sports reporter Ines Sainz has said that she was subjected to offensive comments in the Jets locker room while covering the team's practice last Saturday. The response from the Jets and NFL was swift, investigating and apologizing ...

Remember last year when sideline reporter Erin Andrews of ESPN was approached from behind by a collegiate football player who simulated a sexual maneuver as he was leaving the field? Well if you don't check it out here, along with my take on that situation and Andrews generally. At that time, I noted that many people got angry at the people who spoke out against the harassment and that Andrews pretty much laughed it off in that awkward way one laughs off sexual harassment when you can't make a big deal out of it because, well, you're a woman in sports and you like your job. But I kind of knew this would not be the end of it. And I hate to say "I told you so" but... A video of Andrews naked in a hotel room has appeared on the internet. An as-yet-unknown peeper took the video through a peep hole he/she drilled through a wall or door. In no way am I saying the Andrews asked for it. But this is not surprising given that she has failed to speak up against the overt se...

It's not even 10 and I keep find out new things. First, hadn't heard of the recent controversy in college football where USC player Rey Maualuga who had just helped his team win the Rose Bowl did a little victory sex simulation in back of sports reporter Erin Andrews on his way out of the stadium. Of course, it got caught on You Tube. Some people cheered. Some people booed ( Donna Lopiano , former head of the Women's Sports Foundation), some people booed the booers with the typical backlash rhetoric. The player apologized . Ta-da! End of story. In other words, I don't expect to hear anything more about this. But out of curiosity I wanted to learn more about Andrews. According to this blog she laughed the whole thing off. But really, what choice did she have? She's been sexualized since she first appeared on the scene. Playboy named her the sexiest sportscaster. She doesn't seem to speak out against the sexualization, but that's no excuse for Maualuga's ...

According the Title IX Blog, the University of Iowa athletic department is in trouble --again. Several years ago there was Pierre Pierce incident in which the star basketball player was accused of sexual assault against a female student-athlete. His coach, Steve Alford, came to his defense long before any evidence was in. Turns out the evidence did not quite exonerate Pierce who, regardless, got off lightly--to put it mildly. Not too long afterwards he was involved in another criminal offense and this time he was out. Now a couple of members of the football team have been accused of assault and harassment of a female student-athlete who was told not to come forward with her allegations because it would handled from within. Except that it wasn't, of course. The harassment continued despite assurances from football coach Kirk Ferentz and AD Gary Barta that things would be taken care of. I mentioned this case to someone not as familiar with athletic department culture who was incredul...

Well, it's probably always been there but now the organization is being called on it . Mauricia Grant, a former inspection official and an African-American woman, filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against NASCAR citing racial and gender discrimination and sexual harassment. Dave Zirin's column, linked above, is the first I had heard about this case though I don't usually pay much attention to NASCAR. I do pay a lot of attention to cases of discrimination in sports though. Of course NASCAR has launched a campaign against Grant saying that she never reported any of the incidents she cites in the lawsuit (and they include some lovely name-calling and incidents in which men exposed themselves to her; why do men find this an effective form of intimidation?). And this is the problem with dealing with discrimination through the legal system (ok, one of many problems but this is the one I'm focusing in). When the burden for proof is on the oppressed person; someone who is lik...

A few days I commented that young female athletes are frequently subject to sexual harassment to which they have little recourse and receive little sympathy. The situation in Warrensburg, MO goes beyond even this lack of empathy. Six high school athletes there accused the basketball and softball coach (it's the same person) of sexually inappropriate conduct. According to the article there was a brief investigation this past fall during which no one bothered to talk to any of the accusers. The coach, who is also a local elementary school teacher, was allowed to continue coaching. The girls have filed a lawsuit against the coach and school district. Allegations against the coach include: inappropriate touching of female athletes during practices and weightlifting sessions; pressing his body against players repeatedly; putting his hands inside players' tops; forcing players to change into their team uniforms on the bus to an away game. Since these are allegations that have yet to ...

1. The University of Utah gymnastics team held a "pink out " during a recent meet where they encouraged attendees to wear pink to raise awareness about breast cancer. Those wearing pink got in for free but were asked to donate the usual price of a ticket ($4) to the representative of the American Cancer Society who was at the meet. I've said before that I think such events are part of some weird form of activism (because just wearing pink isn't really doing anything at all especially when only $1 of that shirt you bought for $20 in Target is going to an organization you don't even know the name of let alone what their practices and politics might be) that plays on gender stereotypes. I find it problematic that when women's sports teams engage in such events it's seen as something they're supposed to do. The Utah coach said "since we're a women's sport, it seems like the right thing to do." When men's teams use pink equipment (like...

As I suspected would happen, UNC settled the sexual harassment and Title IX suit brought against Anson Dorrance, head coach of the women's soccer team, by former player Melissa Jennings. The more I think about this situation, the more pissed off I get. First, the settlement was paltry--especially in light of the huge Title IX verdicts and settlements we saw in 2007 (Fresno State and University of Colorado most notably). Most of the $385,000 will go towards lawyers' fees. It's not all about the money, I know. But I think the sum sends a message about how seriously sexual harassment is taken in our country--in other words, not very seriously. I hear this fact, I know the history, but this case makes it all the more obvious. I have been fortunate enough never to be sexually harassed but how I have been so lucky is a wonder given how ubiquitous the practice is; how many people, people I know, have been subject to sexual harassment. And, of course, like Anson Dorrance, the offen...

Title IX is always in the news (as you will see if you check over at The Title IX Blog ), but a few interesting things have happened this week: 1. Anson Dorrance, coach of the very successful women's soccer team at University of North Carolina, is heading to court in the spring of next year to answer charges of sexual harassment brought by a former player. This case began in 1998 and was initially dismissed before a Court of Appeals overturned the dismissal. Unless there's a settlement, a jury will hear all the stories of how Dorrance kicked soccer balls into the backsides of his players and other such egregious behaviors in April. 2. Down in Florida, former (now fired) assistant softball coach Gina Ramacci at Florida Gulf Coast University has filed a complaint with the university alleging Title IX and Title VII discrimination in her case. Ramacci was accused of having inappropriate relations with a student-athlete on her team. A sexual relationship was never proven and Ramacci...

This article is an interesting take on the recent public uncovering of the "halftime show" at Jets games where men line the pedestrian ramps and sexually harass women below. It puts the situation in the context of women's professional football which the author presents as a more pure version of football than "this hedonistic, misogynistic spectacle the NFL has been giving [us] lately." And as much as I support women's professional football and believe it is one of the most undercovered women's sports in the country, I am always leery of the implication that some women's sports or female versions of sport can be an alternative to men's sports. This does two things (well probably more than that but two for today): 1. One, it presents men's sports (some not all) as beyond reform essentially letting all this bad behavior by fans, players, owners, coaches slip by because "boys will be boys" and suggesting they are a lost cause because o...

I read the NY Times article about the "tradition" of sexually harassing female fans at halftime during Jets games yesterday afternoon. And in that time of processing I have felt a myriad of things: general disgust, a certain level of despondency, and validation from peers and colleagues about how atrocious this practice is. But I think, in the end, one of the most disturbing things about this news of men who line up on the spiral ramps and harass women below encouraging them to flash their breasts (and security guards and police who do nothing about it!), is that it isn't news at all. It's been going on for a long time; years apparently. Hard to believe that no one knew about it or thought to report on it before now. I mean, there are You Tube clips of this halftime event. Not much of a secret, I would say. What happens now that the Times has brought it into a little brighter light remains to be seen. What has been done thus far is absolutely nothing--tacit accepta...

Last night's Women's Sports Foundation Annual Salute to Women in Sports featured some big names receiving great accolades . Golfer Lorena Ochoa, who last year overtook one of the greatest--Annika Sorenstam--as the number one golfer in the world, won professional Sportswoman of the Year. Tennessee softball pitcher Monica Abbott won the same in the amateur category. Figure skater Michelle Kwan won the Billie Jean King Contribution Award for her work as a public diplomat travelling around the world talking to kids about education and social issues. And the Rutgers women's basketball team won the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award for enduring all the crap that followed in the wake of Don Imus's imbecility. They met and posed for a picture with former national soccer team member and long-time WSF supporter Julie Foudy, who, while praising the team for their actions, got their gender wrong and called them "guys." Other attendees included Jackie Joyner-Kersee who had to co...

Twisty at I Blame the Patriarchy writes about the pornification of high school pole vaulter, Allison Stokke, that all started when a sports blog, With Leather, posted a picture of her and entitled a post " Pole Vaulting is Sexy, Barely Legal" in early May. (Actually where and when it started seems to be under debate; there were other blogs and websites posting pictures of her during her high school career. But it definitely exploded with this sports blogger's post, though.) The Washington Post and many other news outlets have covered the story which includes the extent of the internet fanaticism around this high school athlete. Above-linked sports blogger tries to keep saying that he wouldn't be interested in her at all if she wasn't so darn good at pole vaulting. I don't recall Lebron James, when he was an outstanding high school athlete, being sexualized at all--let alone at the level of intensity and perversity that Allison Stokke has faced. Despite the p...