One office debate proved to me the sports media boys’ club is evolving
Comment: It is no secret sports media is a boys’ club, even if it is slowly evolving.
As much as I didn’t want it to be true, it was clear within minutes of arriving at different internships that I was the anomaly in the room fighting for my place.
You can hear all about the realities of being a woman in sports media on the Game Face podcast. Sophie Wisely
I’ve walked through offices where the sports team did not have a single woman on it or if it did, you could count the number of women on one hand.
Every room I’ve entered as a female journalist, I have felt I need to be 10 times more prepared than any other reporter in the room, not because I had a fear of being exposed, but more to avoid the unwanted testing to prove my worth.
Not every person in my team is an expert in every field, yet often the two women on the team have found themselves tested more by others than the men.
I’ve been asked some bizarre questions over the years in the field that none of my male colleagues have ever encountered – some even shock them when I reveal it.
“Do you even like sport? Do you even know the rules to this game? Did you only take an interest in sport because you thought the men were hot?”
I’ve truly heard it all, and so have most other women I’ve met in the industry.
People have apologised when I’ve raised the weird and wacky questions I’ve been asked about being a woman in the sports world. Often those stories are met with an apology for the behaviour of someone else or even in some cases, a person will praise the ‘thick skin’ I have to remain in the industry.
None of those comments have ever bothered me. I expected the age-old stories I heard when I was little dreaming of my future in sport would still be a reality.
I was only a teenager when I was told to reconsider becoming a sports journalist. To no surprise, a career as a celebrity reporter was suggested instead.
Don’t get me wrong, I love all things to do with the entertainment world, from film and television, to music and culture. But the theatrics of sports is my passion.
The sounds of the Matildas beating France in a World Cup penalty shootout will never leave my mind, nor will the joy of all who won gold at the Olympic Games. The tears, the excitement, the anger, it is what brings people to watch sport.
We have both jumped at opportunities abroad to pursue our craft. Alyssa Bone and Sophie Wisely
That entertainment is built on the stories of the athletes who have broken barriers to represent a community and proudly show the talent of their nation or team. Those are the stories I love to hear, and I love to tell the world.
There have been times where I’ve been allocated stories about issues in women’s sports because I am a woman and may understand the issue better. But I don’t watch all women’s sports leagues and I don’t think every sport is fun to watch.
One thing that always throws me off is the awkward tension that arises when I admit I disagree with the expected views by women in relation to some issues.
Our team had an hour-long debate around Mary Fowler’s decision to withdraw from the international window with the Matildas to be with her injured, four-time premiership-winning partner Nathan Cleary.
I was asked if I would defend Fowler’s decision even though I didn’t have much of an issue with her choice. Football may be my biggest passion, but I know most people would do the same if they were her and a loved one needed help.
My colleague, Sophie Wisely, felt the narrative had shifted too far from that and intertwined Fowler and Cleary too much. I could see how that was the case, too.
It was a healthy debate Sophie and I enjoyed having with the men on our team and I think they loved it too.
The two of us will never be enough to break up the boy’s club within our industry, but it is refreshing to see the stereotypes in sports media begin to evolve.
I’ll always respect the guys I work with for helping make sure that is the case.
