Women’s Basketball 

In the world of sports, a discrepancy continues between the attention gotten by men and women’s athletic efforts. Despite the passion, hard work, and skill women display, women’s sports always seem to be found on the sidelines, overshadowed by male athletes that outshine women’s sports. One key contributing factor to this is the media coverage of men vs women. There is a defiant unequal air time for women’s sports giving them less visibility and recognition. The unequal air time gives women a disadvantage keeping them unable to grow and develop women’s sports. Men’s sports, particularly in popular leagues like the NBA and the NFL, receive much more airtime and attention than any other women’s sports. Men’s games are featured on all platforms while women are televised on a select few and shown at later uncommon hours. Funding for athletic programs is another huge factor in inequality in women’s sports. Men’s programs are typically given a large amount of financial resources compared to women’s programs. Typically in college athletics, where men’s teams have a larger budget, better equipment/facilities, and more scholarship opportunities. The smaller amount women get supported leaves them less able to develop as athletes but also gives off a stereotype that men’s sports are better and women’s sports are less valuable. Pay disparity for male and female athletes is completely different. Male athletes specifically basketball and soccer earn significantly more than female athletes. The pay gap is evident in professional sports, where male athletes get multi-million dollar salaries and endorsement deals while female athletes struggle to be able to live off of their salaries. The uneven pay shows not only the gender bias in sports but also the contribution to the financial humility female athletes have to face. Many women who play sports to earn money usually have another second job to be able to support themselves. Women in sports constantly get pushed to the side and undermined despite the true athletic ability they all share. Recently basketball star Caytlin Clark proved that women deserve viewership and a chance to prove themselves. Caytlin Clark, a senior at the University of Iowa not only gave women’s basketball a voice but gave women’s sports in general a chance. Caytlin has a drive to be great at basketball. She states in an interview, “Continue to be yourself”, and “Go out there and compete hard. Grow your confidence.” Caytlin Clark wants to inspire young women to do great things, achieve their goals, and be themselves. She set viewership records, the Hawkeyes second round game against West Virginia averaged 4.9 million viewers on ESPN setting the record for the most televised audience for a game in the Women’s NCAA tournament. She broke that record again during the LSU vs Hawkeye’s on ESPN with 12.3 million viewers on a Monday night. The inequalities in sports today remain but despite the inequalities, women have made a great stride in the right direction. Sports will continue to grow and women will continue to succeed.