Are we promoting women’s sports to the right audience?
Comparing women’s sports viewership and inclusivity in media at the start of the last decade, 2010.. and fast forward now the 2020’s, we can agree that there is a significant improvement. More sports bloggers have widened their scope of capturing sports and telling the women’s stories. Different media channels have created an opportunity for women to air their content and incorporate a lifestyle into the women’s sports fans. After I was hosted on a radio show to share my views on women in sports under the organization Score Beyond, I had an interaction with the host who told me that she had developed the idea of hosting women in sports every Wednesday on her radio show as a means to have more women involved in media. After being hosted on a television show to discuss women’s basketball, we were curious to know why we were selected to participate on the show, so we asked, why us? The host informed us that one of the visions of the media house is to strike a balance between women’s and men’s sports. Which was very impressive, right? Many more television and radio shows have impressively tried to strike a balance between women and men in sports media.
With all the attention that is now being paid to women’s sports, are we appealing to the right audience, or are women in sports being represented the right way? Publicity comes with a lot of pros and cons, which include favorable competition for fundings, paid partnerships, sponsorship deals, and the growth of women in sports. However, it was disappointing recently during the FIBA Women’s Afrobasketball Zone 5 games airing when the comment section was filled with totally unrelated topics. Once again, as the South Sudan ladies team hustled against the formidable team of Egypt, a couple of people were busy discussing how many cows a player x is worth in their country! Such comments deprive an innocent viewer of seeing the beauty in women’s sports, and soon, their point of view will be leaning towards sexist thoughts about women in sports. We may underestimate the power of such small acts, but even the most minor evil can potentially cause the most significant damage. Sexist comments thrown around to women athletes will soon yield to body shaming, and when the worst comes to the worst, sexual exploitation of our women athletes. When asked to comment about sexist comments by fans, Coach Mavita responded, “It is a no-brainer! It shouldn’t be encouraged at all. We can’t control the fans, but some leagues have rules that punish that behavior.”
Image source: Chimp reports. Coach Mavita during the U18 women’s FIBA games in Maputo, Mozambique.
Let your intentions of watching or supporting women’s sport be as pure and clean as when you are watching men’s sports. We need to protect our women athletes from any potential abuse, whether it’s a sexist comment or a physical assault.
Nevertheless, we admire the direction women’s sports are taking both in visibility and having more women in the media area, with individuals like Usher Komugisha placing the bar high. Her role as a commentator at the inaugural BAL games in Kigali will forever be historic for sports media. Imagine we eliminated all the classism and sexism directed towards women, and we let them favorably compete and thrive in those formerly gendered fields.
Let’s continue to show support to women in sports the right way. The airing of the FIBA Women’s Afrobasketball Zone 5 qualifiers on the Rwanda National Television and live on YouTube and airing of the Rugby Afrique women’s games on the Uganda National Television is one of the right strides women’s sports is taking. Put women’s sports in the media!
Image source: Uganda Women’s Rugby Facebook page. Samiya Ayikoru of Uganda in action against the Zimbabwe team on the 14th of July, 2021.
Elizabeth Kisolo | kisolo@basketball256.com | Twitter: @Big_Foot115
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