With the way the media is today, women know that when they take on a sportscaster job, they will immediately be subject to more scrutiny than men within their field. In an industry dominated by men and the free will of the media, women sportscasters are often faced with intense criticism concerning their appearance. Too often they are viewed as eye candy and the content they present is seemingly insignificant to many. But the moment a woman makes a mistake in a stat, rule, rank, player name pronunciation or anything related to the sport she is discussing, the media rips her apart saying sports are no place for a women’s opinion. This is the 21st Century—shouldn’t we be well beyond that? Unfortunately society has a long way to go when it comes to accepting women the same way they do men on television.
With the understanding of the uphill climb they face, one would think women sportscasters would do everything in their power to avoid scrutiny. But in a video released just this week, after her car had been towed, ESPN sportscaster Britt McHenry is seen lashing out the parking lot attendant.
Whether McHenry was rightly towed or not becomes insignificant when comprehending the extent of her crass language and judgment. Sure McHenry was ‘off the clock,’ but America doesn’t want to watch someone who can just put on a good act on television, they want to listen to someone who has integrity on and off the job. It is disappointing to see a woman who has “made it” in the sport casting field crush her credibility simply while dealing with her daily logistics. Many will argue the full story has not been released and McHenry may be justified in the words that she spoke. But the full story is irregardless, behind all the make-up, curled hair and stamped smile the world has been introduced to her true colors bringing into question whether a week suspension is really a solution.
Fox News has the full story: http://video.foxnews.com/v/4179911502001
Photo Credits: http://www.knoxnews.com/govolsxtra/football/espn-college-gameday-at-ut-for-the-tennessee
claire kopsky 