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There's been no shortage of sex scandals in the sports world of late. Some have flown under the radar, while others have dominated world news... and water-cooler conversation... for days.
The latest... now commonly known as
the Favre Sext Case... has many of the elements seen in other recent scandals: a
sexy sidelines reporter, a male athlete misbehaving and copious use of technology for intimate communication purposes. And as different as the details may be in the individual cases, they all seem to lend themselves to the question of sexism in sports; in the reporting and presentation of sports by the media and in the behavior of athletes and officials... but also in the way sports are enjoyed by fans of both sexes.
Writing about this latest scandal, Fox Sports columnist
Jason Whitlock declares that
"The entire sports media industry is polluted by sexism" in defense of the latest "victim" Jenn Sterger, who's been painted as a ruthlessly ambitious gold digger/fame whore by some, he decries the boys-will-be-boys-and-girls-will-be-eye-candy culture of the NFL, but acknowledges that it'll be difficult to change.
Bloomberg writer
Scott Soshnick, actually sees this as a moment the to further engage what Commissioner
Roger Goodell called the most encouraging new revenue stream for the NFL: no, not wireless... women. Mr. Soshnick feels that not only do they need to continue stressing that men behaving badly won’t be tolerated but they also need to make the sport more "female-friendly" in a
fan-engagement rather than a
shrink & pink sort of way. He's got some interesting suggestions.
It's a marketing strategy that's being looked at seriously... way beyond football. Yesterday I attended a
Playboy Golf event that was fun, sexy and... completely "female-friendly". It can be done, but how many organizations are ready to do it. Do you feel these recent scandals have made sports organizations more aware of the issues the issues they have with some female fans? Do they see the value in female fans and are they willing to risk the status quo to make changes? That'll be our topic tonight on
Only Two Things. You can join the conversation too... on-air... by using our call-in number, which is:
917-889-9592. Or... weigh in at
the chat room or on Twitter... or just have a listen at
Blog Talk Radio. We'll be live from 9:30 - 10:30 ET.
Honestly, I feel that all of our *new technology* is to blame for much of what has been brought to light in sports these days. It used to be that more than half of the sports stars had dubious affairs, but we didn't have to hear the details. I kind of long for those days gone by. Of course, women weren't allowed behind the scenes back then either. I say if you can't stand the heat then get the hell out of the kitchen, or something like that. If women want to be with the big boys, then they have to be able to take whatever comes at them, or don't play. As we all know, men aren't easily changed. What am I saying? Men only change if they want to, which means it probably won't happen, especially when it comes to sports.
ReplyDeleteJust my humble, old lady opinion... ;-)
I'm not going to go digging because doing s would only give the purveyors of salaciousness another click, but my understanding is that the Favre thing happened when he was a member of the NY Jets, 2008. The "scandal" didn't become public until a few days before Favre and his new team, Minnesota, came to New York for Monday Night Football. Call me skeptical, but I think something's rotten in the Big Apple.
ReplyDeleteWell said, SP.
ReplyDeleteOf course abject harassment of any sort.. sexual or otherwise... should be condemned at every workplace, but I think that when women actively choose to play the role of... say... "NFL eye-candy", they should make sure they're up to dealing with what that might entail, ie. "eye-candy" get's hit upon... that's kind of... the whole point?
I think when a woman in Jenn Sterger's position complains about someone coming on to her, even in the way its been reported in this incident, it minimizes the more damaging and demeaning sexual harassment that occurs in workplaces where women are not there to be "eye-candy". Mind you, as Jason Whitlock points out, Sterger herself was supposedly not the one who brought the story out into the open. But others grabbed the story and as usual its being used in a way that does little to advance the cause of women or sports.
Diane, you may well have a point there too. (Didn't see your message, it came it whist I was writing mine)
ReplyDelete:oD
Me thinks it strange that men seem to worry more about about objectifying women than women do. When women complain about such things it's often once the objectification and (it's perks) have ended, and often in the company of a Gloria Alred-like influence.
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeleteanytime a dollar sign prefaces this discussion, i wonder just who is screwing whom
i find it appropriate that women should participate WITHOUT unwanted advances or endure a negative workplace environment
however, just like the "community standard" level used in legal cases, it is one thing to be employed in a strip club and quite another being employed at IBM
it is difficult for any resonable person to conclude otherwise - no ?
famous people have an aura that when an ordinary person gets gravitationally pulled towards and into, well, whereby that whole situation has no reasonable resulting outcome - anything can happen
and where anything can happen, well, anything goes
anyway have a good show
frankD
ftlauderdalesoFLA
Frank you definitely have a point about the gravitational pull of the famous. It makes those who aren't famous (and particularly those who aspire to be famous) say and do things they wouldn't dream of under normal circumstances.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to do weird things to the brains of the famous too. Otherwise how do you explain the stupidity of what Favre, Tiger, Montgomerie and the rest have done. ;)
After reading the stories I'm really curious as to how those photos a came to be published. I'm also curious to see the photos to but have thus far resisted the temptation to look click over an look at them. I haven't hear anything in the way of discriptives either, except grainy, which doesn't sound too appealing. :\
ReplyDeleteMaybe not the best way to put it, but there are several layers of dirty laundry attached to this Favre story. I too would like to know how all this came to light. It also came to light as he was about to play the Jets.
ReplyDeleteBut it really needs to be examined in terms of Favre's actions. He's a grandpa now. His wife wrote in her autobiography about his affairs. She stood by him. Not sure what her feeling will be after this incident.
Unlike with some of Tiger's women, it seems Favre did the pursuing. He did it in a way any single guy might do. But he spiraled into the "sleaze-o-sphere" when he started sending pics of his "body parts."
I'm not saying there is not plenty of that behavior in this age of "cyber courting/ hooking up." It tells me that Favre is into it and also that he really does not know how to read a woman. He better know she is into that before.....er........exposing himself in that way.
I had the same thought Ducks. I was thinking wait a minute, does man actually think a woman would be flattered to receive that kind of text? Does he think women respond to ... visual stimuli... in the same way men do? I asked those exact questions in a forum and got some interesting replies. Lots of men felt that women would like to receive sexts like that, especially from celebrities. One guy said it was a normal part of phone sex. Who knew?
ReplyDeletei can't say i give a crap about what any of them do off the field. i was a tomboy, i played sports, and i love to watch football, baseball, hoops, golf etc. i think a lot of women who are into sports are more LIKE me than not. frankly boys will be boys and dipshit floozies will be dipshit floozies. and frankly, i don't care. PLAY BALL. stephanie
ReplyDelete"....Otherwise how do you explain the stupidity of what Favre, Tiger, Montgomerie and the rest have done." - thegolfshark
ReplyDeletetiburon,
only they can "explain" it
i remember in TONT's case, he said he "felt ENTITLED" to having women at his access, something that just naturally came along with fame and fortune
frankD
ftlauderdale F L A
Let's get real folks! Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue with women appearing more and more naked each year; NFL's scantily clad Cheerleaders; Sexy women reporters on the sidelines(they don't hire homely ones); and the attractive women golfers and tennis players getting all the publicity in their respective sports. I could go on and on with a variety of examples. The bottom line is sex sells, especially in the media. As long as the media is permitted to objectify women, we will have generations of athletes who objectify women. We will have generations of men in all walks of life who see women in the same light. Nothing is going to change, thanks to the media, unless there is no longer a " page 6" beauty in the News or salacious covers on magazines on the newstands. We are looking at a societal problem, not solely a sports problem.
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frankD
ftlauderdaleFLA
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ReplyDeleteLINYman,
the media doesn't OBJECTIFY women - women do that themselves
guys ALWAYS get into trouble in ONE of TWO ways - 1) they notice these women OR 2) they don't notice these women
i myself have typically gotten into more trouble NOT noticing, for example, a new hair cut or a new color or both
so to be safe, i try to exploit women in a sexual manner, to err on the side of caution, just to make sure they notice that i noticed
get it ?
then go explain it to your friends and have them pass it on to their friends - okay ?
frankD
ftliquordale soFLA
Sex sells for sure. Whether women look at guys or guys look at women. I mean they have the body issue of ESPN mag on the stands now!! I'm not sure a pic in a text message of a guy's penis (without the guy attached to it being in the pic) shows any kind of style, etc. Check a medical encyc. and you will find plenty of pics.
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeletewell the pics only prove FARVE can never be on the LPGA because they have ruled you must be BORN FEMALE
remember renee richards in tennis ?
the LPGA misses yet another potential great marketing and promotional buzz blitz
frankD
ftlauderdale FLA
Last night a Favre mention made it into 30 Rock on NBC. It was shown LIVE. Funny!
ReplyDeleteDear Patricia,
ReplyDeleteWhen I am older do you think I can get an invite to a Playboy Golf Event ?
Lance
aged 8
www.lancesalisbury.com
PS: you are very beautiful.