Sports media doesn’t know how to talk about women’s sports.
We live in an age of bite-sized media in how the sports consumer now follows their favorite teams and players. As a casual observer of the WNBA, the opening weekend was filled with action. Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese to open the season—the league knew exactly what they were doing. Lean into the single biggest narrative that’s driving attention to the league in the very first game of the WNBA season on national television. Good, bad, or indifferent, you have to admit much of sports media knew nothing else to look for in this contest except how Clark and Reese would conduct themselves on the court with the eyes of the nation on them.
Then, the hard foul heard ’round the world happened. Clark fouled Reese! Clark fouled Reese! You could see Ron Burgundy blowing into his conch to alert sports media: assemble! Sports media took to their corners, salivating at the opportunity, and spent the next couple of days discussing nothing else regarding the opening weekend of the WNBA. Sports media doesn’t know how to talk about women’s sports.
At this year’s Barrett Sports Media Summit, ESPN Chicago Bears insider/host Courtney Cronin was asked on a panel featuring four prominent women in sports media how to integrate women’s sports conversation on traditional sports media platforms. It’s an interesting question to ask, with rising television viewership and social media engagement bringing more attention from the viewing public to women’s sports.
Cronin said the first sentence I wrote to open her answer—but as it related to how some in sports media compare it to men’s sports coverage.
“I don’t think we know how to talk about women’s sports because when you regress to the mean, most people have to—because they don’t know any other way to do it—relate it to men’s sports,” said Cronin. “We don’t need to talk about women’s sports in relation to men’s sports, but I still think we’re just shy of being able to view it as its own entity. Within that, people like storylines, but the storyline that shouldn’t be the overall prevailing one is Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark beef.”
Sports Media Ate Up The Low Hanging Fruit….Again
That quote stuck out to me when I spent my day on Monday scouring the internet to see how sports media captured their discussions about the opening weekend of the WNBA.
Was there any conversation about Natasha Cloud’s debut for the New York Liberty? How about the debut of first overall selection Paige Bueckers for the Dallas Wings? A’ja Wilson’s 31-point, 16-rebound performance to begin her MVP award defense?
Nope. Once again, the Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese beef made all the headlines—for all the wrong reasons.
“I know what hatred looks like. Angel Reese HATES Caitlin Clark,” tweeted former ESPN personality Robert Griffin III. “Not some basketball rivalry hate either. Hate.”
“Angel Reese, who actually played okay and looked like she improved her game, made a mockery of her existence,” said Dave Portnoy via X. “She got fouled—totally common foul by Caitlin Clark going for a layup. Falls down, then attacks her, basically. It makes just a joke out of her existence, and why everyone hates Angel Reese.”
“I think Angel Reese truly hates Caitlin Clark,” tweeted Clay Travis, who still opines on sports through OutKick. “Honestly, hate is good for ratings.”
“It’s not about black and white,” said Stephen A. Smith on First Take Monday. “It’s about that white player and that black player. Why? Because of the history they had before they came to the WNBA.”
Among all the noise, I think Emmanuel Acho said it best on The Facility on FS1.
“I got no issue with how Angel Reese reacted, but it’s subjectively clear she did overreact,” said Acho. “I got an issue with everyone overreacting to Angel Reese’s overreaction. I’ll tell you that much. Everybody overreacting to Angel’s overreaction. I got no issue with how Angel reacted, but she overreacted. We know she overreacted because she knows she overreacted.”
That was an actual quote on a national television show. I’m serious!
Lost in all the noise of sports media taking their sides are the participants in the moment who attempted to prevent this from happening. Reese saying, “It was a basketball play, and the ref got it right. Move on.” Clark saying, “Let’s not make it something that it’s not.”
Is Drama Bad For Business?
Unfortunately for the WNBA, the prevailing storyline from the opening weekend was the low-hanging fruit once again—Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese once again caught up in a heated moment that drove the conversation about the start of a new league year.
Is it good for business? It depends on who you ask.
Television ratings are high—that’s good for business. Merchandise sales and ticket revenue are all drivers to judge if business is good too. It doesn’t seem like sports media playing to the low-hanging fruit is affecting interest at all in the sport—in fact, it’s potentially bringing new interest to it.
The point being, it doesn’t take watching the actual games to understand the rivalry between Reese and Clark, which is perfect for sports media to take moments like the foul heard ’round the world and add to the growing pains of women’s sports in America.
“I think you need to educate your audiences on how to consume women’s sports,” said Cronin at the BSM Summit earlier this month. “When the Timberwolves played, what were we talking about? The fact that they couldn’t buy a three to save their life. Can we do the same when the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky play again and talk about the actual X’s and O’s? Are we not sports people?”
The Continued Struggle With Sports Media And Women’s Sports
This weekend proved Cronin’s point that she shared at the BSM Summit earlier this month. When the outcome of the game matters less than a moment in it, the game no longer matters. The Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever aren’t title contenders yet, but they’re the focus of the league for all the wrong reasons once again. It’s not their fault for the spectacle that has taken place since the foul heard ’round the world. Sports media is just too busy aiming for drama in a bite-sized economy where clicks matter more than substance, likes are worth more than depth, and social following matters more than audience.
Sports media doesn’t know how to talk about women’s sports—and there may never come a day when they do. Women’s sports, unfortunately, will never rise to the level of interest or discussion their male counterparts already own.
For women’s sports to become its own entity, it will require more buy-in from traditional platforms and better effort from its personalities. How you position the storylines to get people to care about the games on the floor in the first place will determine the path by which women’s sports are more amplified in the daily discussion of sports.
Sports media can do better.
(PHOTO CREDIT: © Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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John Mamola is the sports editor and columnist for Barrett Media. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. Honored to be a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Media and honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL). Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
