Tag Archives: ESPN

Brittney Griner challenges gender stereotypes

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BY LORI RAUDIO

With March Madness in full swing, it is an exciting time in sports. Many people, however, forget there is a women’s tournament happening as well. With hours of coverage devoted to the men’s games, it’s easy to overlook the women. If ESPN or other media outlets even mention the women’s bracket, it’s most likely related to Baylor star Brittney Griner.

An ESPN article titled “What Brittney Griner Says About Us” by Kate Fagan did a great job illustrating the problem facing women’s sports. Fagan mentions because Griner is so good, people accuse her of being male. This occurs with many talented female athletes. Griner creates a problem for people who argue women’s games aren’t exciting or competitive. Because she actually makes the game exciting, she must be a male.

Females athletes are becoming tougher and more competitive. This contradicts the gender stereotype that women should be feminine and not overly muscular. Fagan writes, “Women’s basketball is maligned for not being as athletic as the men’s game, but as women become more athletic, these players are often labeled unfeminine, and therefore unwatchable.” I feel this perfectly sums up the problem facing women in sport.

Griner has changed the game of women’s basketball, but there is still work to be done. She will soon join the WNBA, which is even less popular than college basketball. Griner has handled all the scrutiny well, and maybe she can be the one to increase the popularity of the WNBA. To fix the problems facing women in sport, more people like Griner need challenge the conventional stereotype of female athletes.

ESPN celebrates ‘Danica 500’ and ignores Rousey

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BY ANTHONY ALFORD

This past weekend was a historic weekend for women’s sports as NASCAR driver Danica Patrick and UFC fighter Ronda Rousey both took center stage. It was a weekend in which sports media latched on to the historic female storyline.

ESPN began its NASCAR coverage in a “Sunday Conversation” interview with Patrick within 24 hours of her Daytona 500 pole win. Patrick continued to dominate ESPN coverage throughout the week. It felt like ESPN was covering the “Danica 500” rather than the Daytona 500.

Meanwhile, ESPN seemed to ignore fighter Ronda Rousey. Rousey and Liz Carmouche became the first female fighters to compete in UFC history. For years, women’s MMA has been reduced to sideshows on local and regional promotions. But Rousey had the “it” factor to allow women’s MMA to be taken seriously. However, because ESPN does not have TV rights for the UFC (Fox has a 7-year deal with UFC), ESPN felt little need to cover Rousey’s fight.

Rousey and Patrick are both mainstream stars, but if ESPN had it their way, Rousey would have never even existed. ESPN offered only 30 seconds of Rousey’s fight coverage. That’s right, 30 seconds.

ESPN’s coverage selection draws on an even bigger issue in sport. Does ESPN really care about the rise of women’s sports, or is it just a marketing ploy to benefit their outlets? ESPN covered Patrick’s race, but not Rousey’s fight because it was on another network. Sports fans should hope for competition from other networks to end ESPN’s monopoly on sports.

There are rumors of a Fox Sports 1, but those rumors say the network won’t be launched until August. Until then, Americans are stuck with ESPN and its interpretation of which athletes should make history.

On a weekend where women’s sports should be celebrated, instead we must focus on the agenda of mainstream media. Both of these ladies have earned the spotlight this weekend, however only one of the athletes got the fair treatment she deserved.

Analyst deserves longer suspension for RG3 comments

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BY KIA TYUS

ESPN analysts are known for their ignorance, but how far is too far?

Rob Parker took it too far when discussing Robert Griffin III. Parker questioned Griffin’s blackness because he is engaged to a white woman.

Parker’s comments were very uneducated as interracial relationships are a big part of our society. Parker also claimed Griffin was a Republican. What does his political affiliation have to do with his identity?

His comments reflected poorly on ESPN and could make other black ESPN analysts, his co-workers, uncomfortable.

Griffin and his fiancé were also impacted by his comments. The star quarterback could now endure backlash for his political views.      

Parker apologized, but it did not seem sincere. He only apologized due to the negative response received from ESPN and sporting world.

He was suspended for 30 days, but I feel it should have been longer. He impacted many people through his statement.

Gruden and Tirico are ‘Primetime’

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BY MATTHEW OSTROW

Jon Gruden and Mike Tirico turned in a primetime performance Monday in the NFL matchup between the New York Giants and Washington Redskins. Their performance is coupled with some of the best camera work for replays and between play shots by the ESPN network.

Tirico does a great job setting up Gruden to do his analyst job after a play, complemented by good camera angles. For example, ESPN showed a run by Redskins running back Alfred Morris from a bird’s eye view right behind the player. It was a great view and allowed Gruden to dissect the play.

During the course of the game, Gruden and Tirico both highlighted certain players because of their role or ability.  The cameras worked very well with the commentators in showing these players.  When Gruden spoke about Giants linebacker Chase Blackburn and how important he is to the Giants defense, the camera cut to a shot of Blackburn on the field.

Energy is the strength of the Tirico/Gruden broadcasting team. You can hear Gruden’s excitement and energy for the game in his analyses. It is very contagious and great to see a commentator love what he is doing.

It is obvious why Gruden and Tirico are on the call for Monday Night Football on ESPN. They provide great information and energy and receive great support from the camera work.

Junior Seau Commentary

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BY DANE WINDISCH

Former NFL great Junior Seau and his tragic death have played out in the media since he was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his home on May 2. For the media, it’s always a sensitive topic to cover when a death such as this one happens and on top of that, to a future Hall of Fame linebacker who was still playing five years ago. ESPN was one of the networks I covered to see how the reporters acted while discussing it and what the different NFL shows on the ESPN networks responded to the death.

Former NFL great Junior Seau and his tragic death have played out in the media since he was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his home on May 2. For the media, it’s always a sensitive topic to cover when a death such as this one happens and on top of that, to a future Hall of Fame linebacker who was still playing five years ago. ESPN was one of the networks I covered to see how the reporters acted while discussing it and what the different NFL shows on the ESPN networks responded to the death.

During the ESPN’s NFL Live, there were former players coming on and talking about memories they’ve shared with Seau either personally or competing against him. This gave the audience a better understanding of just how Seau was as a person and player and you could see the emotion it brought to some players. No player showed more emotion on air then former teammate of Sea, Marcellus Wiley. Wiley, with tears rolling down his eyes, shared his moments with Seau and how he was as a friend and player.

When tragic events take place in sports it’s very important for all anchors and reporters to know the situation by having respect in their tone and actions while on air. ESPN’s reporters and anchors did a great job at capturing the special moments with the players being interviewed and having the utmost respect for Seau’s legacy.