Brooks Marlow, a Class A player in the Houston Astros minor league system, decided to share a bad opinion on Twitter about an ESPN broadcast. While watching a single elimination game with huge stakes, Marlow simply couldn’t concentrate on said game with a woman’s voice on the call.
.@astros Here is the screenshot pic.twitter.com/ddovXUUU0J
— Neil Weinberg (@NeilWeinberg44) October 6, 2016
Marlow felt the need to share this discomfort on the internet because it felt like relatable content to him. Well, in 2016, it’s not. The Astros issued a thoughtful apology about the tweet, but that doesn’t change the fact that Marlow’s tweet is still something that is emblematic within the male-driven sports world.
The Astros have released the following statement: pic.twitter.com/AiZjFKKCRQ
— Houston Astros (@astros) October 6, 2016
This isn’t the first time that Jessica Mendoza, the woman Marlow was referring to, has dealt with these kind of comments from players or fans. Sadly, it’s a common issue within the sports world. Just take a look at any female media member’s Twitter mentions and it will quickly become apparent how widespread the issue is.
Doris Burke faced a similar issue when she ascended to a lead NBA broadcasting role despite being one of the sharpest basketball minds at the network. That’s the thing about Mendoza, Burke, or any woman who takes a prominent broadcasting role: They are generally hyper competent because they had to be two or three times as good to rise above their male counterparts.
Women should never have to deal with comments like Marlow’s. But hopefully by calling out sexism, eventually it’ll lead to the response a more inclusive sports environment for women.
(h/t Deadspin)
