Before you dive for the comment form and brand me a sexist idiot, give me 30 seconds and hear me out. This complaint has nothing to do with the quality of the reporting of the female sideline reporters; the good ones are good and the bad ones are bad just like any other reporting.
My biggest complaint about female football sideline reporters is that the once “new thing” of having a female sideline reporter has turned into the “token thing” or “compulsory thing” of having a female sideline reporter. It is a rare game now that does not have a female sideline reporter.
There have been a few attempts at having a woman do play-by-play but for the most part, the very fact that the female sports reporter is nowhere to be found other than the sideline at an NFL game or college game is proof that the position is at best a token gesture and at worst sloppy treatment of women for their looks by the network.
Are these women reporters beating out comparable men for the same position? Or are they filing a position the networks now offer only to females?
As a male sports fan, I can tell you that the token female sideline sports reporter does nothing for me sexually. If anything, a super hot chick interviewing my favorite coach as he tries to run off the field is a little distracting simply because of the fact the reporter is so elegantly beautiful and obviously misplaced next to frumpy old Bill Belichick in his sweaty hoodie.
I think the networks should crap or get off the seat. If they are honestly going to try to integrate women into sports reporting, do it. Although I probably wouldn’t enjoy listening to it very much, put them in the booth every now and then. If the networks aren’t serious about integrating them, stop what has become the obvious joke to everyone else.
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I agree that the token female sports reporter is a joke.
However, I feel that, as a woman, I am allowed to take this complaint a step further. I don’t particularly want ANY women as football reporters. I want a reporter who has some first hand experience! Women won’t really have this and the men who choose football reporting ought to. I value someone’s opinion much higher if they have actual experience doing what they are talking about.
If the fans don’t want to have women football reporters, do we still have to have them? I wish the answer was no.
Kristy on August 13th, 2007 at 8:48 pm | Link
Kristy, the issue with having reporters with first hand experience is that they are athletes first and reporters by chance. This often leads to some of the dumbest commentary imaginable, although not always.
My objection to the sideline reporters is they rarely have anything to say about the game in progress. They tell us a lot of “He said” “He said”. I think their main purpose should be to give injury reports. We don’t care what the players had for dinner last night or how many tickets they had to get for family.
Betty Marie on November 3rd, 2007 at 1:22 pm | Link
Women on the sidelines is annoying as hell. When they start babbling usless banter about how one of the players uses honey on his hemorroids, I mute and go take a crap. Stay in the kitchen where you belong.
Chad Snaggler on December 30th, 2007 at 4:31 pm | Link
Oh women sideline reporters are so funny especially in football because they obviously know diddly **** about football and all they are doing is reading the teleprompter and trying to look as “hot” as they can. I totally agree with Chad Snaggler’s comments. Women on the sidelines do not belong there. Also it totally infurates me and I know many other men why is it women always feel they must have a right to have to do or be involved in the men’s sport and if they are not involved then they will find something or someone to blame because they think it’s not “fair” well life is not fair so PLEASE DO US A FAVOR AND FOR the LOVE OF GOD for football SAKE just let it be a complete man’s sport!!!! Women FOOTBALL sideline announcers need to get LOST and simply let us men do it OUR WAY!!
If men tried to be involved with a women’s sport say for example an all women’s volleyball team women would bitch and moan till they are blue in the face because they don’t think it’s fair that a man can just be on a women’s team or something like that.
Mo on December 29th, 2008 at 3:57 pm | Link
You all sound like sexist assholes - I need to go no further. Go out and get you some pleasseee so you can stop being so envious of the woment you will never have on Television
kristo on June 28th, 2009 at 11:38 pm | Link
Every comment that I have heard in this blog is offensive and offbase. Why can’t women enjoy football? Why can’t they be every bit as knowledgeable as a man in this “man’s sport?” They have many women football leagues, and Suzy Kolber *female NFL reporter* has actually played with the guys on a high school football team! I believe that you are all ignorant pieces of ****, and agree with kristo. Get a frickin life & get over it!
Stephanie on November 5th, 2009 at 1:26 pm | Link
The original point (and I 100% agree) is put them into the booth, or don’t use them at all. Why are all but two sideline reporters female and there are exactly 0 in the booth?? That is the sexist aspect. I don’t want a female to get the job because she’s a female, AND I don’t want her to NOT be in the booth because she’s female. Let the best person win.
Adam on November 22nd, 2009 at 6:35 pm | Link