A majority of the most popular sports in the world are catered and favored towards men. Events like the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, and World Series are televised and attract millions of viewers around the world. The last Super Bowl got 115.1 million viewers, whereas the last WNBA Finals only amassed 1.3 million.
Because of the constant low viewership, the pay of women’s sports is also significantly less than men. The men get paid millions of dollars more because of things like engagement, brand deals, etc.
As of recently, women’s college basketball has gained a tremendous amount of viewership. Ever since the 2023 NCAA women’s championship, the interest in women’s college basketball has gone up. The intense game brought a plethora of viewers and new fans.
The game brought in a total of 10 million viewers, breaking the record for most watched college game, men or women. The LSU Tigers won the game 102-85.
Because of how heated the game was, it brought attention to how women’s games can be just as interesting and entertaining as men’s games. Some of the top players include Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Juju Watkins, etc. Those same players, as well as Bronny James, are going to be among the first college players to have their jerseys sold by Nike because of their impact on the game.
Despite these achievements many still believe that women’s sports are not worth the watch simply because they are women.
The most common reason for not thinking they’re worth the watch is because they’re not as athletic as men, so it’s less entertaining to watch. Those that make this argument fail to realize that basketball is not always about how flashy it is; it’s about how the game is played.
Another argument is that they’re not strong enough. There’s an ongoing debate on social media about if an average high school boys team could beat a college or WNBA team, simply because they’re boys.
This argument takes away from the hard work that women do as well. Just because they’re not as physically strong as men, again, doesn’t mean that they can’t play the game. Women and men go through the same type of training; they even train together a lot of the time. It’s also a lot harder for WNBA teams to practice because only two teams have their own practice facility.
Women’s teams of all sports need to be recognized and respected all around the world. Their hard work goes unrecognized just because they are women, and that needs to end.
