Sports sexism: hard work, no respect

One thing is clear to Drew University students who have been to many of the sporting games at school.

The capacities at the games aren't consistently full, but the men's games draw significantly larger crowds than the women's. It is no secret that fans are drawn to teams that perform well, and in many sports at Drew, the women have consistently better records than the men.

So, then it may be perplexing as to why they do not receive as much attention from the students on campus.

Of course, this issue is not limited to Drew. In fact, the attention women's sports attract at Drew is probably higher than those off campus.

This article is not written in judgment, as I must admit I pay significantly less attention to women's sports.

Some may see paying more attention to male sports as sexist. Arguing how sexist it is is not really productive, but it is important to understand why this discrepancy exists. Women have done their best to get recognition in society for their athletic abilities. Women have a long history of playing sports in this country, and it is important to note how far they have come. For a long time, female sports were virtually unheard of.

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) contributed greatly to the progress and notoriety of female athletes when they played baseball while many American men went to fight in World War II.

The league itself, though, had elements of sexism. The very title of the league referred to the women as "girls," and the baseball players wore skirts as a part of their uniforms, which I imagine were very uncomfortable to slide in.

Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Alex Rodriguez, Peyton Manning, and countless other male athletes are all household names. Observe the most notable female athletes, such as Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Danica Patrick and Sue Bird. Don't get me wrong- each of these women is tremendously talented in her own right, but all share the trait of being quite attractive.

I imagine if each of them were found particularly unattractive by the opposite sex, they would not get anywhere near the amount of recognition that they do.

Take Anna Kournikova, who was a fairly mediocre tennis player but benefited from good looks and is one of the more famous women ever to play tennis. As for men, sure looks probably help a little, but are still an endless amount of high profile players who would not be considered attractive.

It is also interesting to see in college sports how there are many male coaches and personnel in women's sports, yet in all my years of watching sports I don't ever recall seeing a woman on the sidelines. There is not even a personal trainer I can remember.

Of all the coaches in women's sports, none is more famous than Tennessee basketball coach Pat Summitt, and deservedly so. Recently she won her one thousandth game as head coach of her program, which is a school and college basketball record.

But, despite her unrivaled success, she is not as well known as Rick Pitino, Mike Krzyzewski or even retired Head Coach Bobby Knight.

If a men's basketball coach accomplished what Summit did, his face would be carved into Mount Rushmore.

Bottom line, a lot of people just view men's and women's sport as separate entities, rather than as different genders playing the same game. In essence, women's sports are viewed as the minor leagues to their male counterparts playing the same game. It is a shame, because these women work just as hard as the men do yet they get such little recognition.