First Draft

The sports industry continues to grow every day and the events surrounding the sports generates new fans each year and the projected value for the sports industry in 2019 is expected to reach 73.5 Billion. The unbelievable numbers are the motivation behind the peak of hires of all positions within this industry. I foresee myself working in the industry and want to know “what role do women have in the rise of sports business?” With this research, I can help others understand their direct effect on the topic of sport business. The increase of women becoming interested in sports and watching games have shot up in the past five years. Now many companies are changing their agendas to bring in a diverse audience. In the past couple of years’ major teams have been hiring women for big time roles within the leagues. The recent hires go to show that there might be change going on even though sometimes it doesn’t seem like it. For example, the San Antonio spurs hired Becky Hammond, a former WNBA star, as a full time assistant coach in the NBA. In the summer of 2016, Hammond was the first woman to coach the summer league for the Spurs and she did not disappoint as she led them to a championship. Her role as the “first” helps inspire others wanting to follow in her footsteps. Hiring more women in the sport workforce can help increase coverage on women sports, which is suffering currently. Women like Aaron Andrews and Pam Oliver have set a good foundation for sport reporting, however there needs to be more. The voices of females are limited within the male dominated environment.

The question of how we can change the lack of women in sports is a good one, but it Is up to the top individuals of the network. They know that women are qualified for the job, but they need to implicate the hire to make a difference within the community. In the speech made by the up and coming sports commentator Maria Taylor, she talks about her experience with ESPN and getting hired. In the speech, she mentions the backlash she got on the internet when she messed up during her broadcast. The comments include shaming her about being a woman and that she was “manly”. Of course, she took those comments with a grain of salt but she expressed her feelings towards young people watching her and was disappointed while reading the backlash that she received and she hoped that it wouldn’t discourage someone watching her that day from doing her job in the future. Everyone will receive hate no matter who they are, but the comments towards her looks made her feel as though she had to seem “hot” for men to have interest in watching her and to not lose ratings.

There are leadership summits dedicated to women in the sports industry that brings together thousands of women each year. At the summits, they discuss their role within the industry and share their experiences of good and bad while doing their jobs...