Should Misty Copeland be considered in the GOAT conversation?

In 2012, Misty Copeland, the first African American principal ballerina in the American Ballet Theater, endured grueling pain when she suffered six stress fractures in her tibia. She had injured her leg months earlier, but the condition worsened because she maintained an arduous schedule of rehearsals and performances to prepare for a career highlight—a starring role in Igor Stravinsky’s The Firebird at the Metropolitan Opera House.

She has had injuries throughout her career, but this was one of the most serious ones. She had no idea what her future held. She also became the first African American female principal dancer with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre (ABT) in 2015. She faced her fair share of adversity on her rise to the top. She started dancing at age 13. As a black woman, she was told that she'd never make it to a major company and that her muscular frame didn't fit the mold.

Dancers endure such injuries in their career. The hours, years and months of intense training are unimaginable as they plié and pirouette across the stage with ease. Dancers train like athletes. When ABT is in season, it's all day. ABT has a very rigorous schedule, some may say it is more than any major company in the world.

Learning about this we decided to write today about these brilliant and hardworking professional dancers. We believe that dancers should have endorsement deals. Dancers should be paid. Dancers should have insurance. They should not have to end their careers early since they commit to this path at a very young age.

They should be given the same accolades and acknowledgment and respect as professional athletes. They should be in conversation with star athletes like Serena Williams and Megan Rapione. They deserve it. Similar to what professional athletes experience, there's so much pressure for dancers to always be at the top of their game. Misty Copeland being considered in GOAT conversations is a big step in the right direction. She has totally earned it.

MEN CAN'T SIT ON THE SIDELINES

Many times when the conversation of women's sports not getting the same attention than men's sports come up, a rebuttal is usually given that it's because women's sports doesn't have enough spectators and bring in the same money.  Well, let's dive into that a little bit and first talk about what men's sports receives that women's sports doesn't; such as monetary investment, media coverage, and societal support.


If you ever look at a male star athlete, you'll notice that brands provide huge sponsorships giving these athletes placement on billboards, magazines, buses, video games, etc... where consumers not only begin to recognize the athlete, but begin to feel like they know them.  Brands are capable of marketing athletes and create a following, but it's not the same amount of sponsorship women athletes receive.  However, some brands are beginning to see the value in investing in women athletes, like Nike.  In 2019, they launched a campaign called "Dream Crazier" bringing to light the double standard for female athletes and feel 2019 is the "tipping point" for women in sports.  Retailers are now starting to increase the amount of products that support female athletes and guess what? They're selling, they're selling fast!


The second major benefit men's sports receives is media coverage. When looking at media coverage, not only is women's sports coverage only 4% of total sports media, but the reporting typically doesn't focus on performance.  To perpetuate the problem further is that females also only make up 4% of sports reporters.


Lastly, societal support leans favorably to men's sports more so than women's, and this is where everyone plays a role.  As of late this is beginning to change with women athletes finally receiving the recognition they deserve for being the badass SHEthletes they are, but media needs to stop changing the narrative.  You have superstar athletes like LeBron James and Draymond Green going to WNBA games, but the highlight is usually their attendance of the game as opposed to the game itself.  Therefore, men can't just sit on the sidelines, they need to keep speaking to the talent of these women.  In an industry dominated by men, these women need your support, they need you to be allies.  Hire them.  Pay them.  Give them the coverage they deserve.  Their talent will bring in the spectators, it will bring in the money, but they require to be supported. #watchmework #supporther

THE IMPORTANCE OF SPORTS FOR YOUNG GIRLS

In the world of sports, it is no secret that professional female athletes are undervalued and underpaid compared to their male counterparts. For the younger generation of female athletes, it is clear that they are not getting the same amount of money and effort given to boy athletes. According to the Women’s Sport Foundation, by the age of the age of 14 young girls are twice as likely to drop sports compared to young boys. This is mainly due to several factors: social stigmas/gender stereotypes, lack of access, safety and transportation issues, and lack of positive role models. Today, there are still large gender equality gaps in high school sports throughout schools in the United States even with Title IX. A few years ago, the National Women’s Law Center analyzed federal data from over 16,000 high schools in the US and found that nearly 30% of those schools still have large gender equality gaps in sports and that not one state in the country has achieved gender equality in sports. Also, the National federation of State High School Association states that annually boys get 1.13 million more sports opportunities than young girls.

Those statistics need to be taken seriously and need to be resolved because it is proven that sports have many beneficial effects on young girls. Studies have consistently shown that when girls participate in sports there is a positive effect on their academics, as well as other parts of their lives. Compared to female non-athletes, young girls who play sports are more likely to have higher grades, graduate college, and even score higher on standardized tests. Studies have also found that there are increased career opportunities for females that were involved in sports. One study by the Women’s Sport Foundation concluded that females who played high school sports have 14% higher annual wages. Similarly, ESPNW (ESPN Women) and EY Women Athletes Business Network conducted a survey of 400 executive business women which found that 94% of them played organized sports growing up and 74% agreed that their athlete participation prepared them for the business world and can “help accelerate a woman’s leadership and career potential.”

There are also many health benefits for young girls who participate in athletics, especially psychological benefits. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, females who regularly participate in sports have lower rates of the depressive effect, lower levels of self-derogation, and higher self-esteem compared to students who participate in other extracurricular activities. There are many other studies that clearly show the positive correlation between sport participation and the positive physical and mental health of athletes, which will set the stage for healthier development. This makes it extremely clear that supporting and giving young female athletes the same opportunities as young boys is more important than many individuals realize and seem to care. 

MEDIA EXPOSURE FOR FEMALE ATHLETES

Women have been fighting for equality all throughout history. There was a time when women were not even permitted to watch or participate in the Olympic Games. Things have improved since then but to this day, female athletes still experience significantly less and different media coverage than their male counterparts.

Despite the improvements towards reaching gender equality in sports, female athletes still face numerous obstacles. The media sometimes still present sports as if there are masculine (e.g., football and ice hockey) and feminine (e.g., gymnastics and figure skating) sports, aligning with traditional expectations of male and female athletes, which makes it more difficult to break traditional gender barriers and allowing women to participate in masculine sports and men to participate in feminine sports. In fact, many female athletes are only accepted by society and receive coverage in the media if they participate in traditionally feminine sports.

If a woman dares to participate in a masculine sport, their sexuality is immediately questioned. The media tends to ignore, which devalues, women’s athletic accomplishments by focusing on their physical appearance, private lives, and femininity and sexuality even if they achieve more impressive athletic feats. This unequal attention may seem minimal to some, but is discrimination, nonetheless. Even if women and girls do not interpret the inequality as discrimination, it can still cause negative consequences like demotivating future female athletes. Let’s take Dutee Chand, first Indian to win a 100-meter gold in a global event for instance. Not many knew Dutee Chand outside the avid sports fans circle of India. The sprinter had won multiple laurels, including silvers in both the Asian and Commonwealth Games last year. But she wasn’t quite the talk of the town. It all changed in May this year when she became the first Indian athlete to come out as a member of the LGBTQ community. Both local and international media got obsessed with it.

Instead of giving so much coverage on their personal lives, it would make more sense if they highlighted their achievements. Media plays a big role in shaping the attitudes of the people towards women's sports. Its high time they give these amazing female athletes the kind of coverage they deserve for what they have done for the countries they are from but also the sport they represent.

PRICE OF PREGNANCY FOR FEMALE ATHLETES

Over the past two weeks, it's become very clear that the world of professional female sports still has such a long way to go.  You're probably wondering what I'm talking about. The US Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT) won the World Cup....again, as in the 2nd time in a row, Serena Williams is still the G.O.A.T., and Simone Biles just showed the world why she's the best gymnast EVER! 

Well, two weeks ago, sprinter, Allyson Felix, was celebrated for beating the gold-medal record of Usain Bolt at the World Athletics Championship.  This was such a sweet, sweet victory, but not because Felix is a female.  It was a sweet victory because not only did this win come after giving birth 10 months prior, but because Nike was probably kicking themselves for losing a sponsored athlete due to their poor policy on pregnancy.

In March of this year, Allyson Felix told her story through the New York Times describing how Nike had asked her to take a 70% pay cut post pregnancy and could not guarantee that she would not be punished should she not perform as she did prior to pregnancy.  After advocating with other athletes, Nike changed their policy and many other brands have done the same.

However, this past weekend, WNBA star Skylar Diggins-Smith, made headlines for a tweet about her pregnancy experience as a professional athlete.  In her tweets Diggins-Smith revealed that she was pregnant throughout her 2018 season, while remaining an all star player and told no one. She explained that after delivering her baby she had to take two full months off because of challenges she faced with postpartum depression with limited resources to assist her both, mentally and physically. In addition, she expressed that she felt it was unfortunate to not have any support from her organization, the Dallas Wings.

Therefore, it appears that while female athletes are fighting to get paid equally as their male counterparts, they also need to fight to be mothers. How ridiculous is this?  What are your thoughts? #SHEthletes

OUR MISSION

It is no secret that women’s sports and female athletes do not get the same media coverage compared to their male counterparts. In the United States, women’s sports receive only 4 percent of sports media coverage. This is evident every day when you turn on the TV or visit mainstream sports websites and the majority of front-page stories are dedicated to men’s games and news. However, while the coverage of women’s sports is significantly lower than the men’s it doesn’t mean it is nonexistent and that there isn’t an interest to follow women’s sports.

Fortunately, and contrary to what internet trolls say, the interest in women’s sports is strong and continues to grow every day. The issue is not fully based on the popularity of female athletes but more on how the women’s leagues and teams are marketed, the lack of coverage, and the lack of overall investment in women’s sports. When major tournaments and games are covered, there are consistent high viewership numbers and ratings, which goes to show there is interest in women’s sports. 

Thanks to social media channels we know people are demanding more and better coverage of women's sports and we intend to capitalize on this and help generate more attention toward the achievements of the hardworking female athletes around the world. SHEthlete wants to empower and celebrate all female athletes in their achievements at the local (community), collegiate, professional, and international level by creating an online presence on various social media platforms to highlight them individually and/or in groups. SHEthletes are changing the game of sports and we believe they should be appreciated and judged on their accomplishments and ability rather than by their gender. 

Follow our social media pages on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (@SHEthlete), because this is the future of sports.