Final Project
The Progress of Women in Sports
When you think about sports heroes and icons, who comes to mind? LeBron James, Tom Brady, Michael Jordan? What about Serena Williams, Simone Biles, or Caitlin Clark? In the past, women’s sports and the female athletes have taken a backseat to men’s sports. Recently, though, we are seeing female athletes break stereotypes more and more often.
The increase in the prevalence of women in sports is due to a multitude of things. Participation rates are going up, as well as the media coverage of female athletes. Part of this includes women on the call in sports broadcasting, featuring as color analysts or even play-by-play commentators.
Junior and multimedia communications major at Indiana Wesleyan University Abby Harvey aspires to be a sports broadcaster one day. Harvey says women commentating on games has assisted in the growth of women’s sports and getting rid of the stigma surrounding it.
Interest in women’s sports has risen rapidly over the last few years. Female athletes are becoming more and more popular. Names like the ones mentioned above, joined by other stars such as Naomi Osaka, Coco Gauff, and Alex Morgan, are changing the game for women.
Caitlin Clark has put women’s basketball on the map with her long-range shooting ability and gaudy numbers. Simone Biles has proven to not only females but African American females specifically that they can achieve success at the highest level, winning seven Olympic gymnastics medals. Osaka, Gauff, and Williams have dominated the tennis courts in ways we have never seen before.
Sabrina Ionescu is among the WNBA stars putting women's basketball on the map.
Indiana Wesleyan University senior basketball forward Jordan Reid says the more the female athletes can do individually to promote women’s sports, the better off they will be.
The future of women’s sports lies in the current athlete’s hands. There is an increasing amount of female role models that young girls have to look up to. By seeing women excelling in sports and advocating for young girls to play, they are more likely to challenge traditional gender norms, pursue their athletic dreams, and break new ground in various sports. This ripple effect can be seen as an ongoing legacy, fueling future generations of female athletes.