Module 5
Race, Ethnicity, & Gender
A. Classifications of Race and Ethnicity
Although these definitions may differ slightly depending on the discussion, they
provide a good starting point for this chapter. Race is not as easy to define as you might
think. Due to the mixing of many generations of different races, more Americans have a
mixed racial background than an unmixed one. Historically, many people have used the
so-called one-drop rule when describing racial origins—meaning, for example, that a
person with even one drop of blood from an African American ancestor was considered
African American. Of course, in popular culture, membership in a minority group might
be determined based on skin color, facial features, or type of hair. In addition, the U.S.
Census Bureau classifies Hispanics and Latinos as a single group with a footnote that
they may be of any race (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2019).
Within this chapter and throughout this book, we will use the following terms:
White and Caucasian, African American and Black, and Hispanic and Latino. We use
these terms because they reflect the U.S. Census; however, teams and leagues may use
different terms to identify race and ethnicity. In the United States, all groups except
Whites are considered to be minorities because they constitute a smaller percentage of the
population than the majority group (White Americans). The term racism refers to the
belief that race determines human traits and characteristics and that racial differences
result in the superiority of a particular race. Victims of discrimination due to racism have
typically been minorities. The dominance of White males of European origin in the early
days of the United States resulted in many Whites believing that they were superior to
people of other racial backgrounds.
The U.S. Census Bureau forecasts that by 2060, the number of Latino and
Hispanic Americans and the number of Asian Americans will show significant increases.
As of 2018, the top states with residents who identified as Latino or Hispanic were
Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and
Texas. The total Hispanic population in the United States is 18.5 percent of the overall
total population but will increase to 28.6 percent by 2060. At the same time, the White
population will drop from 60.1 percent to just 43.6 percent of the total by 2060—the
lowest percentage in the nation’s history. The decline in the White percentage appears to
hinge on declining birth rates among Whites and on immigration by minority groups.
These changes mean that groups that have been minorities in the United States will, when
combined, become the majority.
Asian Americans tend to concentrate more heavily than Hispanics in traditional
immigrant-magnet areas. In fact, more than one-third of all Asian Americans nationwide
live in the top three magnet areas: New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. However,
like the Hispanic population, Asian Americans are steadily dispersing across the country.
In another trend, four states—Hawaii, New Mexico, Texas, and California—now have
minority populations that when combined exceed 50 percent of their total population.
More generally, of the nation’s roughly 3,000 counties, about 350 (11 percent) now have
this type of “minority majority.” Similarly, 13 states and the District of Columbia now
have a minority majority in their population under age five—up from just 5 states in
2000. In 25 states and the District of Columbia, minorities now make up more than 40
percent of the under-five age group.
B. Sport Participation Among Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Because developing as an athlete requires resources—time, access, and money—
the opportunities are limited for millions of U.S. kids in lowincome families, many of
whom also happen to be Hispanic or African American. In addition, boys in all age
groups continue to have much greater access to sport opportunities than girls do. Overall,
White children are much more likely to have access to—and participate in—sport
activities than do African American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, or Polynesian
children. Of course, for decades, African Americans were systematically excluded from
White-controlled sport events, programs, and organizations. Beyond such direct
discriminatory practices, access to sport also varies by race based on cultural expectations
and the availability of discretionary family income.
A quick look at the history of sport reveals that African Americans have not only
moved into prominent roles in the major U.S. sports but have also reached a point of
domination. Arthur Ashe divided his definitive history of Black athletes (Ashe 1988) into
three volumes. The first volume dealt with Black athletes from the 1600s up to the time
of World War I. As sport entered its golden age in the United States in the 1920s and
1930s, a few Black athletes made their marks, including Jesse Owens in track and field
and Joe Louis in boxing. But it was not until after World War II that integration became a
reality in most U.S. sports, and Black athletes began to achieve a level of prominence.
Most historians would agree that one of the major events in this period was Jackie
Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball (MLB).
From the early 1940s until the conclusion of World War II, no Black athletes
participated in MLB, professional football, or the National Basketball Association
(NBA). Outstanding Black athletes were relegated to playing in the Negro leagues of
baseball and other competitions organized for African Americans. In the latter part of the
decade, each major team sport made the move to sign a Black athlete, thus marking a
change in U.S. sport that was to have far-reaching implications for the next 50 years. For
Black athletes, the five years following the end of World War II were the most
memorable in their sport history.
African Americans now dominate National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) Division I basketball for both men and women, and Black men also dominate
NCAA football. The next most popular college sport among both male and female
African Americans is track and field. In Division I football, basketball, and track and
field, African Americans far surpass their percentage of expected participation based on
their share of the U.S. population, which is about 13 percent. However, in all other sports
at all levels of NCAA competition, African Americans account for less than 5 percent of
collegiate athletes—far below what might be expected based on their proportion of the
overall U.S. population.
Although African American athletes certainly have a large presence nowadays in
the revenue-producing sports of football and basketball, the overall progress made toward
racial diversity in collegiate sport is modest. The Institute for Racial and Gender
Diversity assigned a grade of B- to college sport for diversity in hiring, noting specific
improvements in the hiring of head football coaches and head women’s basketball
coaches. Yet the overall picture shows that White people hold 86.2 percent, 87.4 percent,
and 91.4 percent of positions within men’s sports for Division I, II, and II, respectively.
White males also dominate the position of athletic director, with percentages of 75.9,
73.4, and 63.8 at the three divisions, respectively. It is also revealing that all but two
college conference commissioners in every division are White.
In contrast to East Africans, athletes of West African ancestry—including most
North American, British, and Caribbean Blacks—are generally not strong distance
runners. Rather, Black athletes of West African ancestry tend to excel in sprinting and
other sports ruled by explosiveness, speed, and power. It is important to look at factors
like culture, geography, access, and role models when evaluating why some populations
of people excel at certain sports and others do not. Thus, if we simply define race
according to skin color—in this case, that of Black athletes—we find significant variation
between different groups of Black athletes.
Some people believe that Black athletes have longer arms or reach than their
White counterparts. Others believe that Black athletes are mentally tougher and more
relaxed under pressure. However, no matter how thorough the testing is, it is difficult to
isolate factors and ascribe them exclusively to race. In fact, if you were to take a random
sampling of youth athletes of all racial groups, it is unlikely that you would find
significant differences.
In addition, African American culture, particularly in urban settings, has drawn
young Blacks to the basketball court, and friends and heroes reinforce this attraction.
Television offers plenty of opportunities to watch professional role models compete in
basketball, football, and, at the Olympics, in track and field. In addition, basketball courts
are plentiful, relatively inexpensive to build, and able to accommodate lots of players at a
low cost. As a result, playground basketball and recreational leagues that are free or low
cost have served as training ground for thousands of city kids.
Activist Harry Edwards is widely recognized as a leading authority on issues of
race and sport, a longtime professor of sociology at the University of California at
Berkeley, and a consultant for MLB, the Golden State Warriors, and the San Francisco
49ers on issues of racial diversity in sport. Edwards identified the phenomenon of
stacking, which is an unusual distribution of Whites and Blacks in certain sport positions
that cannot be explained by a random distribution.
Another theory is that Blacks and Whites tend to be attracted to certain positions
and that children follow the lead of their role models and seek out similar positions in
youth sport. A similar theory holds that coaches move players into certain positions based
on race where they think the athletes would be most successful. Those positions require a
relatively higher level of physical talent and speed and a lesser amount of cognitive
ability.
Another factor is that the positions Black players dominate tend to require greater
strength, speed, and explosiveness. Since those attributes are often the first to decline
with age, Black players may have shorter careers and thus less sustained earning power.
In fact, the NFL positions most filled by Blacks—running back, cornerback, and wide
receiver—tend to have the shortest careers. Consider that players who occupy positions
Black players typically hold have a career expectancy of about three years in the NFL,
compared with four years for positions typically held by White players. That difference
may seem inconsequential, but it means that Black players have careers that are, on
average, 25 percent shorter than the careers of White players, thus affecting their earning
potential.
An unfortunate outcome of opening sport participation to Black athletes has been
the shameful way in which some schools, coaches, and universities exploit them for their
athletic talent. Leaders in the Black community speak out against exploitive practices, use
the media to publicize infractions, and warn athletes to watch their backs. Despite these
efforts, the potential for Black athletes to be exploited often exists even when they are
quite young.
On the other hand, the professional leagues have conspired to keep college-age
athletes from playing in the pros. While most athletes are not ready physically or
mentally to compete at a young age, some, such as basketball player LeBron James, are
ready to not only play but also be a star. Of course, colleges don’t want to lose athletes in
whom they have invested time and money to a professional team before their collegiate
eligibility is used up. Therefore, professional leagues and colleges work together to keep
players in school, even if the athletes have no interest in it and want to turn professional.
Basketball finally succumbed to pressure and now requires only that a young man
entering college play one year before becoming eligible for the NBA draft. College
basketball coaches have responded by recruiting promising young basketball talent to
play for one single year at their university; these athletes then turn pro before finishing
their degree. The NFL requires college players to wait three seasons. Baseball, on the
other hand, has always signed young players and often encourages them to join minor
league teams rather than go on to college.
An athlete’s decision to turn professional rather than play one more year of
college usually has to do with the potential for a lucrative contract. An athlete offered
millions of dollars takes a risk of not being able to complete a degree in higher education,
by forfeiting their amateurism status, and going after their dream to be a professional
athlete. Athletes also have the additional risk of potentially hurting themselves while
playing college sports instead of going directly to the pros. If they sustain a serious
injury, it may be the end of their career—and of their chance to achieve long-term
financial security for their family. In the end, if the deal is good enough, most athletes
leave for the pros. Even if another year in college would have been good for their athletic
development or academic career—as compared with perhaps sitting on the bench for a
professional team—the temptation and the security of a contract are often too great to
resist.
Elite Black female athletes are offered fewer speaking engagements,
endorsements, and sponsorships. Moreover, unlike some athletes, they have not been at
the forefront of the civil rights movement or the feminist movement because sport has
been seen either as trivial or as reflective of a male model that females should not
emulate. Two notable exceptions to this pattern are Venus and Serena Williams, who
have landed huge sponsorships from Reebok and Nike, respectively. If Serena meets
performance-related criteria for bonuses over eight years, she could earn upward of $55
million from her Nike deal—and that’s on top of the several million a year she earns in
prize money! This is an amazing achievement for a Black female athlete. Yet, Serena still
does not earn as much in sponsorships and endorsements as her male and White female
counterparts.
The term Hispanic is used to describe all people whose ethnic heritage can be
traced to a Spanish-speaking country. Latino, on the other hand, typically refers to people
of Latin America, including Central and South America and the Caribbean. Hispanics and
Latinos together are a diverse group in ancestry and language, and people in this group
may have Black or White skin. As noted previously, Hispanics and Latinos have recently
nudged ahead of African Americans in terms of their percentage of the U.S. population,
and their percentage is forecast to increase steadily over the next few decades. In
addition, some people identifying with the Latin heritage in the United States have started
to use the term Latinx, which is a gender-neutral neologism that refers to both Latino and
Latina in the U.S. Latinx is now being reflected in data collection of both Hispanic and
Latin American populations within the U.S.
As more Latino players find success in MLB, young Latinos look up to them as
role models and pour their energies into honing their baseball skills. Young men from
modest economic backgrounds see few opportunities for success and economic security
that are more attractive than becoming a baseball star. To capitalize on such hopes, MLB
has established baseball academies in many Central American countries and made top
coaches and competition available to promising prospects. Although most Latinos who
have made it to the major leagues hail from Central American countries, their successes
have attracted a huge following of U.S. Latinos who identify with their origins.
Latinos are also well represented in boxing, tennis, and golf. Boxing has been
increasingly popular with Latinos, who have dominated the classes below middleweight,
but as of 2019, Latino heavyweights are increasing in number (Corpas 2019). In tennis,
two women of Latino descent, Mary Joe Fernández (Dominican Republic) and Gigi
Fernández (Puerto Rico), won Olympic gold medals representing the United States in
successive Olympic Games in 1992 and 1996. Mary Joe Fernández has gone on to
become a tennis commentator on ESPN, as well as a coach for the U.S. Federation Cup
team. They helped pave the way for Monica Puig Marchan, who is currently the reigning
Olympic champion and the first Puerto Rican player to win Olympic gold.
Along with Latinos, Asian Americans are the fastest-growing minority population
in the United States, but their participation in sport has been slow to develop. As
compared with other racial groups, famous athletes of Asian descent are relatively few,
and the group’s participation in sport has generally been lower than that of other groups.
The one professional sport that athletes of Asian descent have dominated, at least for a
time, is women’s golf. The priority list for entries into tournaments is based on the
previous year’s earnings, and in 2020 there were four Asian players in the top 10, and
they all identify as South Korean: Jin Young Ko, Sei Young Kim, Jeongeun Lee6, and
Hyo Joo Kim.
It is difficult to generalize about sport participation of Asian Americans due to
their varied countries and backgrounds. Many come to the United States already highly
educated and established in the middle or uppermiddle class. Therefore, they do not reach
out to sport to achieve greater economic, social, or educational goals. Instead, the goal of
becoming a doctor, lawyer, scientist, or other professional is instilled in their youth by
both their parents and their culture, according to professor Yun-Oh Whang, a native
Korean (Lapchick 2003). Census data supports the notion that Asian Americans have a
higher household income and higher graduation rate in both high school and college than
any other U.S. group, including Whites.
As of 2019, Native Americans and Alaskan Natives made up 1.3 percent of the
U.S. population, accounting for just over 5 million people. With this relatively small
percentage of the population, you might not expect this group to have had much of an
impact on sport, but it has produced some notable athletes over the years (U.S. Census
Bureau 2019c). The Olympic Games have produced several sport heroes for Native
Americans. Probably the most famous is Jim Thorpe, who was of mixedrace ancestry of
Native American and White, who won two Olympic gold medals, played professional
baseball and football, and became the first president of the league that would become the
NFL. His Olympic medals in 1912 were earned in the pentathlon and the decathlon, and
Thorpe’s records in these events stood for decades. In 1950, he was named the greatest
overall male athlete of the first half of the 20th century by the Associated Press, and a
few years later ABC’s Wide World of Sports television program named him the athlete of
the century.
There is no more significant Native American contribution to sport than the game
of lacrosse. Considered America’s first sport, lacrosse was created by North American
Indians and embraced by non-Native Americans and Canadians alike. Lacrosse is a
combination of basketball, soccer, and hockey that rewards skill, speed, and agility rather
than brawn. Lacrosse participation in all age groups had been growing at an average rate
of more than 10 percent nationally until 2012, when the growth rate slowed to 5.5
percent. The number of boys playing youth lacrosse has risen by 81 percent since 2007,
and participation by girls has increased by 69 percent. The states with the most youth
lacrosse players are New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
As of 2018, there are about 830,000 active lacrosse players in the U.S.
The use of Native American names for mascots has become an issue in the U.S.
capital, which is home to the NFL’s Washington Redskins. Media coverage of the
controversy has been intense as supporters on both sides have laid out their arguments.
Team owner Daniel Snyder has vowed never to change the team name, despite strong
media pressure. He claims that the term “Redskins” honors the tradition and fighting
spirit of Native Americans. Others view it as a demeaning, insensitive, and racist
reference to people who have been badly mistreated in their ancestral home. Some media
chose to stop using the team nickname, instead using phrases such as “the professional
football team in Washington.” In 2020, more awareness was put on racial equality and
inherent bias throughout the United States because of the Black Lives Matter (BLM)
movement. Since then, the Washington Redskins reevaluated their name, and as of July
2020, the team adopted a new nickname and logo as the “Washington Football Team.”
Polynesians have endured poverty and financial distress ever since, due to the few
job opportunities on the islands and the continuous commercialization of the land.
Historically, these island people relied on subsistence living but have since been
displaced and forced to move inland, away from the ocean. Therefore, they are unable to
maintain their traditional lifestyles. However, some of the practices that Polynesian
people have used for fishing or traveling are now recreational and competitive activities
and sport. Popular sports in Polynesia include surfing, outrigger canoe racing, fishing,
football, soccer, and rugby. Polynesian people are water people, and historically
Polynesians have sustained their living through fishing and being able to maneuver on the
water with outrigger canoes and through surfing. More notably, Hawaii is famous for
surfing! Some of the most famous surf competitions in the world take place in Hawaii,
including The Pipeline Masters and the “Eddie.”
The New Zealand national rugby union team, All Blacks, are known for
performing a haka, also known as a traditional dance, usually before playing an opponent
on the international stage. The history of the haka is connected with the Maori people of
New Zealand (Jackson and Hokowhitu 2002). The haka is an ancient Maori war dance
that has been adopted by not only the All Blacks but also teams around the Polynesian
islands (there are different variations). In fact, the University of Hawaii Rainbow
Warriors perform the haka before matches (Tengan and Markham 2009). Though the
haka is not native to Hawaiian Polynesians, it is still performed due to the large Maori
presence on the Hawaiian Islands and the connections to the various Pacific islands. The
haka represents a performance of strength, unity, and toughness and includes slapping the
body, showing the tongue, and stomping the ground. The lyrics of the haka describe
protection, being able to stand up against enemies, and not being fearful of what is to
come.
C. Sport and Promoting Equality
In the words of William Ellerbee, former basketball coach at powerhouse Simon
Gratz High School in Philadelphia, “Suburban kids tend to play for the fun of it. Inner
city kids look at basketball as a matter of life and death” (Price 1997). To these kids,
professional sport seems like a way out of a life marked by economic struggle,
educational challenges, and poor prospects for a successful career. In addition, sport is
something that young people can understand, relate to, and almost taste. The problem is
that there are just not enough spots to fulfill all the dreams.
The NCAA began tracking graduation success rate (GSR) with the class of
students entering college in 1995. Since then, the overall rate for studentathletes
graduating has increased steadily. During this period, the NCAA had stricter standards
for initial eligibility and progress toward a degree; it has also created a statistic called the
academic progress rate to track student-athletes’ academic success. The GSR for Division
I men’s basketball was 83 percent. For football, it was 82 percent, and for women’s
basketball, it was 91 percent. In 2019, there were twice as many Black graduates from
Division I programs than there were in 2002. Black male athletes had a success rate of 76
percent, and Black female athletes had a rate of 87 percent.
Barkley has used his platform as a former basketball star to get the attention of the
Black community. Gary Sailes, a sport sociologist at Indiana University who provides life
skills training to high school and college athletes, echoes his message. He states, “About
95 percent of NBA players need to find a job after their careers end, and about 81 percent
of those players are bankrupt when they retire from the sport.” Despite the millions of
dollars superstars command, not all professional players make that kind of money, and
the temptation to spend lavishly is often hard to resist.
Sport at every level of competition potentially can have a positive effect on the
quest for racial equality in society. The helpful outcomes of sport participation should be
considered to take appropriate perspective on the negative effects, which are often
sensationalized in the media. Harry Edwards, an activist for more than 30 years, brings a
unique perspective on the value of sport for Black youth. In his opinion, the next 30 years
will see a decline in Black sport participation. Edwards expects the Black youth
community to split into two groups—middle class and poor— each of which will shy
away from sport. Middle-class kids will become professionals—doctors, lawyers, and
businesspeople. Meanwhile, he says that Black youngsters from poorer communities are
dropping out of society and landing in gangs, on the street, or in jail.
Several sports have begun outreach programs to attract minority youth. Among
them, tennis and golf have probably initiated the most ambitious programs. Traditionally,
affluent White families have played both sports, and marketing efforts have typically
been directed toward that audience and toward corporations that seek to reach consumers
with household incomes well above the average. However, to reach larger audiences and
open these sports to a more diverse population, programs for a broader base of young
people have now been established and subsidized to introduce them to tennis and golf.
Integration of young people from all racial and ethnic backgrounds occurs
naturally in sports where teammates must work together for success. Even when athletes
of different races compete against each other, they learn to respect and admire the
competent athletic performance the opposing players exhibit. In this way, young athletes
may learn that success is based on achievement, regardless of heritage or skin color.
Kids participating in sport are more likely to stay out of trouble with law
enforcement and less likely to become dependent on drugs or alcohol. Granted, binge
drinking by college athletes generally exceeds that by nonathletes (58.1 percent for those
that were athletes in high school and college, 39.5 percent for those that were only
athletes in college but not in high school, and 35.2 percent for those that were never
athletes), but African American athletes, particularly women, have the lowest prevalence
of binge drinking (Wechsler 2005). Although athletes as a group are not immune to
temptations or antisocial behavior, the time and dedication required to achieve excellence
in sport often take precedence over other activities that typically result in unacceptable
behavior. In addition, athletes run the risk of losing their chance to play the sport they so
enjoy if they violate rules for conduct and behavior.
Michael Jordan, perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time, demonstrated
the global reach of sport success through his role as a spokesperson for Nike. Kids in
many countries adopted the mantra “Be like Mike” and consumed Nike products from
shoes to clothing in hopes of emulating Jordan’s performances. He also showed how
fame in one field can be transferred to the business world through ownership of a
professional basketball franchise (the Charlotte Hornets) and other business ventures.
Minority athletes become role models for the next generation of athletes, and their
fame is not limited to children from a single racial background. Indeed, children often
choose their heroes based not on race but on performance, flair, and personality.
Although some athletes reject their role as models for youth and simply want to be
accepted as an athlete, the dynamics of the media, fans, and kids simply won’t allow it.
Prominent athletes’ actions, lifestyle, and values are scrutinized and either embraced or
rejected simply because they are in the public spotlight. They can choose to serve as a
positive force for improving society or as a negative example of behavior that should be
abhorred. As the struggle for racial integration continues, sport offers fertile ground for
exposing the futility of erecting artificial barriers to integration, embracing athletes from
all backgrounds based on talent and conduct, and promoting understanding and
appreciation of people from different backgrounds.
D. Minorities as Sport Leaders
Virtually anyone who has studied the situation of minority athletes has come
away believing that leadership in sport must change for progress to occur. The lack of
minority leadership in key positions in sport is sobering and shows few signs of
improving soon. However, change can happen. The following sections look at some ways
to increase the presence of minority groups at all levels of sport. Most of the examples
involve African Americans, since their role as athletes in certain sports has been so
dominant. Increasingly, though, people are also becoming more sensitive to the need for
leaders from other minority groups as well.
Given the statistics showing the dominance of African American athletes in the
collegiate and professional sports of football, men’s and women’s basketball, and track
and field, you might expect to see similar gains in the coaching ranks and other
leadership positions. However, the proportion of African American coaches sits well
below the proportion of African Americans in the population at large and is much lower
than the proportion of African American athletes playing the major revenue sports.
In the National Football League in 2019, two-thirds of players were racial
minorities—primarily Black (59 percent)—whereas Whites occupy 93.8 percent of
management positions. Though there were no African American owners, there were two
owners of color: Pakistani-born Shahid “Shad” Khan and Asian American Kim Pegula.
There were two Black general managers or senior vice-presidents: Chris Grier (Miami
Dolphins) and Doug Williams (Washington Football Team). In addition, there were only
three Black head coaches in the NFL to start the 2019 season compared to a high of eight
for the 2011 season.
As the discussion makes clear, one key strategy for promoting racial diversity in
sport is to improve the hiring and retention of minority coaches and administrators in
both college and professional sport. Institutions must follow guidelines for affirmative
action that include strategies for recruiting minority candidates, including minorities in
the hiring process, and making a good-faith effort to evaluate minority candidates
objectively and fairly. Even as Black athletes dominate some college and professional
sports, Black athletes in general continue to face struggles. Their participation tends to be
limited to just a few sports, and their access to most sports is still limited. In addition,
powerful sport institutions tend to exploit the physical abilities of Black athletes at the
expense of their potential to lead a fulfilling life. Moreover, Whites continue to dominate
leadership positions in sport at all levels, thus affecting efforts to open opportunities for
African Americans as coaches or other leaders in the sport world.
E. Gender-Based Categories
The gender binary is the classification system that only includes two genders:
male and female. Most of the world, particularly in the West, is classified on the gender
binary system at birth, with the doctor assigning a gender to an individual based on their
genetic attributes. From a very early age, we are assigned a gender, and we are taught to
adhere to those gender norms (Hyde et al. 2019). Boys are brought into this world;
swaddled in blue clothes; and taught to watch sports, play with Legos, and resist the
temptation of showing any form of weakness. Girls are pushed toward the color pink, and
their learned behavior teaches them to play with dolls, be submissive, and not show
dominant characteristics. While the Western world operates on a gender binary system,
some places do not.
Since Western culture operates on the gender binary, it is difficult for an
individual who may self-identify as a gender outside of male or female. For example,
when looking at sports, usually there is a men’s team and a women’s team, so someone
who is intersex or transgender does not fit into the Western ideology of male or female.
Transgender is a term used for a person born with a sexual anatomy that does not fit the
typical definitions of female or male. Within sport, many transgender athletes have
competed in athletics. Keelin Godsey came out as transgender during his senior year with
the Bates College women’s track team and changed his self-identification from female to
male. Renée Richards, who changed her self-identification from male to female and
underwent gender reassignment surgery, was denied entry to the 1976 U.S. Open. She
disputed this ban, and it went all the way to the Supreme Court, where there was a
landmark decision on trans rights, which ruled that the USTA was discriminatory toward
her and violated her rights. She was eventually allowed to compete in the U.S. Open, but
lost to British player Virginia Wade in the first round of singles; however, she did reach
the doubles finals.
Intersex is a term used for a person born with a reproductive sexual anatomy that
does not fit into the common definitions of female or male. This may involve genitalia
ambiguity and a person being assigned as a male or female at birth, but may have
characteristics of both sexes. Therefore, their assigned gender at birth is based on the
decision of the doctor or parent(s). Within sport, this plays a role when an intersex athlete
competes within female competition since they do not fit the gender binary and therefore
may have an unfair advantage when competing in a female sport. The IAAF has
established regulations and has conducted numerous amounts of research to try and figure
out how to fairly distinguish if an athlete should compete as a male or a female.
Currently the IOC and many other sport governing bodies run on the gender
binary system, and the rules and regulations may not address the ever-fluid landscape of
gender and the role it plays as far as what team a person plays on. At one point, the IOC
instituted sex testing into their practices, but it was focused on the discriminatory practice
of testing women and not men (Genel, Simpson, and de la Chapelle 2016). Women
would have to walk around in a nude parade in the 1960s to prove that their genitals were
that of a female. The IOC has continued testing chromosomes and hormones, but the
assigned experts still have not come to a consensus of what should constitute “normal”
hormone levels for a female athlete.
F. Women and Sport Before Title IX
In the labor force, the education levels for women have risen. In 2018, 43 percent
of working women hold a college degree, as compared with just 11 percent in 1970.
Moreover, in 2017, women accounted for 52 percent of all workers employed in
management, professional, and related occupations (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
2018). Even so, women overall in the workforce hold more part-time jobs than men,
work fewer hours, and earn only 82 percent of what males earn for comparable work and
hours worked. In addition, men still dominate the higher-paying executive jobs. These
shifts in the workforce mean that women now shoulder a large burden in seeking and
keeping their jobs, helping ensure access to health care for their families, and still serving
as the primary caregiver in most families.
Along with decades of fighting for equality in employment opportunities, women
have campaigned for and significantly progressed in gaining admission to institutions of
higher education, rights in marriage, roles in the armed forces, and opportunities for sport
participation. The sporting world changed greatly with the passage in 1972 of the federal
Title IX legislation, which granted females equal opportunity for sport participation.
Even so, their foray into the sporting world also meant that they faced new forms of
discrimination.
For centuries, sport participated in assigning a limited role to women by
excluding them from participation and resisting efforts to include women in sport. Girls
have been ignored, ridiculed, and even disciplined for their efforts to compete in sport
(Rice, Hutchinson, and Lee 1958). It wasn’t until the mid-1800s that women even
ventured into physical activity programs founded at colleges such as Mount Holyoke and
Vassar. These early programs of physical education were typically led by medical doctors
who were dedicated to improving the health and fitness of students. Exercise for girls was
carefully controlled and emphasized graceful, ladylike movements. Competitive sport
was ruled out as simply inappropriate for women.
Even so, a few women dared to participate in individual sports, such as tennis and
golf. Gradually, women were generally accepted into other sports that were considered
relatively feminine because they involved grace, beauty, and coordination—for example,
figure skating, gymnastics, and swimming. Power and strength sports were still deemed
inappropriate for women, and even the Olympic Games banned women from most track-
andfield events. To put it simply, running, jumping, and throwing heavy objects were not
consistent with the prevailing social view of women. In 1920, the Olympics invited only
64 women and more than 2,500 men. At the Berlin Games in 1936, the number of female
participants grew to 328, and male participation rose to nearly 4,000.
In hindsight, lack of interest was a particularly irrational justification for
excluding girls from sport. Given that girls had little access to sport, few sport role
models, and no encouragement to play sport from social institutions such as families,
schools, and churches—of course they appeared uninterested! Instead, they were
expected to become cheerleaders, pompon girls, and majorettes; play in the band; and fill
the stands to cheer on the boys.
In the last century, led by physicians and physical educators at universities across
the United States, people gradually awakened to the positive benefits of physical activity
for girls. Though at first limited to certain physical activities deemed “ladylike,” girls
were at least encouraged to become aware of their bodies for reasons of health and
appearance. Eventually, research began to show that girls could train their bodies to
become stronger and faster and endure longer without damaging their physique.
Once a few girls dared to compete against boys, it was perhaps inevitable that
objections would arise about the relative skill and physical prowess of girls versus boys.
For instance, my (Ron’s) high school boys’ tennis team competed against a young girl
named Tory Fretz, who played first-position singles on the boys’ team for Harrisburg
High School and went on to a professional career. She defeated every boy in the
conference, usually by a lopsided score. Her performance was an eye-opener for
adolescent boys and was experienced as humiliating for her victims, who endured teasing
and taunting.
G. Title IX
Social change throughout the 1950s and 1960s helped change women’s sport. The
women’s movement of the 1960s—including organizations such as the National
Organization for Women and the Women’s Action Group— helped further the movement
for equality of women and men. In the sport world, however, it was the passage of Title
IX that ultimately helped women and girls to be on an even playing field with boys and
men.
When Title IX was passed, there was little immediate outcry, because the United
States was in the throes of ensuring equal protection for all students, regardless of race or
gender, in public education. Most parents agreed that their daughters should have the
same right to a fine education that their sons had. It wasn’t for some time that people
understood that sport was included in the decree and that big changes would have to be
made. The imbalance in sport participation between boys and girls was dramatic until the
1970s. At that time, nearly 3.7 million boys played varsity high school sport, but only
295,000 girls did so. Even more unbalanced, boys received 99 cents of every dollar spent
on sport. At the college level, about 180,000 men played varsity sport, but just 32,000
women did so.
Shortly after the passage of Title IX, massive changes began to be made in high
school and college sport. Most schools and colleges were slow to respond, but the process
had begun. Supporters of male athletics initiated numerous lawsuits to delay the
inevitable, but women gradually began to assert their rights and demand sport
opportunities at every level.
The most perplexing question facing Title IX enforcement on college campuses
focuses on American football and the 85 athletic scholarships awarded for football at
most Division I schools. These schools must provide 85 women’s scholarships just to
match the football total. Once these 85 men’s and 85 women’s scholarships have been
awarded, a university then decides how many other scholarships it can afford for other
sports. In response, many athletic directors have completely dropped less popular, non-
revenue-producing men’s sports, such as wrestling, tennis, golf, gymnastics, and
swimming. As a result, programs rich in tradition— some of which had earned national
championships—have suddenly disappeared. Governing bodies for these sports—for
example, wrestling and tennis—have mounted campaigns to reinstate them. Although
they are careful not to criticize Title IX, the underlying mumbling blames women.
Dropped sports are called “unintended consequences” in recognition of the fact that the
authors of Title IX never intended to harm men’s sport by opening women’s sport.
H. Women and Sport After Title IX
Participation in sport and physical activity by females of all ages has continued to
increase overall, and among those exercising daily, the proportion of women improved
from 15.6 percent in 2010 to 17.7 percent in 2015, whereas males posted a small decrease
from 21.5 percent to 21.4 percent during the same time period. Females dominate certain
activities, such as aerobic exercising (85 percent), exercise walking (55.5 percent),
exercise with equipment (55.3 percent), and swimming, surfing, and water skiing (52.3
percent) (Hoffman and Knudson 2018). Women are also more likely than men to join
exercise classes at gyms, a fact evidenced by their dominance in yoga (84 percent) and
Pilates (84 percent).
Olympic performances by women improved dramatically as training intensified
and the pool of competing athletes enlarged. Joan Benoit Samuelson’s time for the
marathon in the 1984 Los Angeles Games was faster than all men’s times before 1956. In
Olympic swimming, the women’s record in the 100-meter freestyle, set in 1992, was
faster than all men’s times before 1964. In cross-country skiing, the Olympic record for
women in the 15-kilometer race, set in 1994, was faster than all men’s records before
1992.
In 1973, at the height of the women’s movement, Billie Jean King defeated
Bobby Riggs to win the “Battle of the Sexes” in front of 30,472 fans—then a record for
the largest crowd to attend any tennis match and one that stood until 2010 (Women’s
Sports Foundation 2009). The match that broke the record was an exhibition between
Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters in the tiny country of Belgium. That match, staged in
Brussels, set the new attendance record for of 35,681, largest for a women’s match.
During the 2018 to 2019 season, nine women’s basketball teams— Notre Dame, South
Carolina, Mississippi State, Iowa State, Oregon, Baylor, Oregon State, Stanford, and
Gonzaga—had higher attendance rates than their male counterparts.
At the 2018 U.S. Open, the women’s final between Naomi Osaka and Serena
Williams attracted 3,101,000 viewers, while the men’s final between Novak Djokovic
and Juan Martin del Potro drew in 2,065,000 viewers. In 2019, a women’s basketball
game between Baylor University and the University of Notre Dame drew a record crowd
of 20,127. That is the highest attendance at a women’s college basketball game not
involving one or both of the sport’s two historical powers: the University of Connecticut
and the University of Tennessee.
Despite the remarkable progress made by girls and women in sport, equity
remains a pressing challenge. Athletic opportunities for girls and women remain clearly
unequal, and the urge to congratulate ourselves for the progress made since the 1980s
should not cause us to slack off now. Girls, particularly those of color, have far fewer
opportunities than boys to participate in sport; moreover, when they do play, they
typically must tolerate inferior facilities, equipment, coaching, and publicity. Although
high school sport for girls has experienced many consecutive years of increased
participation, girls still trail boys in high school sport by 1.2 million participants. In
addition, fewer than two-thirds of African American and Hispanic girls participate in
sport, whereas more than three-fourths of White girls do.
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) came into existence in
1996, after the success of the Women’s National Basketball Team in the 1996 Olympic
Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to the development of the WNBA, women were playing
professional basketball overseas because there were no opportunities for women to play
basketball professionally in the United States. The WNBA has never been known for
their high salaries, and the star female athletes have often gone overseas for professional
basketball opportunities so that they can make a living from playing basketball as career.
In fact, the WNBA season and the seasons of teams in Europe work together so that the
women can play in the WNBA in the summer months and then go overseas starting in the
fall months (Butler 2018). This type of schedule means that many of the WNBA’s top
athletes are playing professional basketball year-round, meaning they cannot rest their
bodies or start a family if they wish to do so.
The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) won the FIFA Women’s
World Cup in 2019 by defeating the Netherlands. After this historic win, they became the
first team in Women’s World Cup history to have four total wins. This win came after the
failed attempt of the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) to even qualify for the 2018
FIFA World Cup in Russia. Approximately 14.3 million U.S. viewers watched the
Women’s World Cup final in 2019, which was 22 percent more than those tuning in to
watch the Men’s World Cup Final in 2018 (Hess 2019). U.S. women’s soccer games
generated more revenue during 2016 to 2019 than did men’s soccer games. However, the
women’s team is not paid as much as the men’s team, despite having a higher success
rate on the pitch and with viewership.
I. Social Issues in Women’s Sport
As sport opportunities and fitness activities for women have increased, new social
issues have arisen. For example, before women’s participation in sport and physical
activity, little or no attention was paid to issues such as the impact of women’s fitness on
health and the design of exercise clothing specifically for a woman’s body. This section
explores several social issues that have emerged as women have entered the playing field.
In 1994, Donna Lopiano of the Women’s Sports Foundation summarized the
benefits of women’s participation in sport and physical activity. Specifically, benefits
have been identified and substantiated in the psychosocial, physical, behavioral, and
emotional realms. In addition, research has shown that introducing girls to sport and
physical activity at an early age is essential in helping them make exercise a lifelong
habit. In fact, Linda Bunker (1988) of the University of Virginia has concluded that if a
girl does not participate in sport by the time she is 10, there is only a 10 percent chance
that she will participate when she is an adult.
The health benefits of exercise extend beyond fitness. Research has shown that
teenage female athletes are less likely than nonathletes to use illicit drugs (marijuana,
cocaine, and others), to be suicidal, or to smoke. They are also more likely than
nonathletes to have a positive body image (Women’s Sports Foundation 2009). These
benefits mirror those found for male athletes and speak to the value of encouraging young
people of both sexes to take better care of their bodies and develop a strong self-concept
that helps them resist peer pressure. Teenage female athletes are also less likely than
nonathletes to get pregnant, more likely to abstain from sexual intercourse, and more
likely to experience sexual intercourse at a later age (Women’s Sports Foundation 2015).
In this light, one might wonder if the relative lack of sport participation among
economically disadvantaged girls correlates with their significantly higher rate of teenage
pregnancy.
As our culture continues to encourage women to join the workforce and contend
for leadership roles, the lessons of the playing field appear to be just as helpful to females
as they are to males. Various sport experiences help women develop critical skills needed
for building a successful career —for example, leading, handling pressure, taking pride in
accomplishment, and working as part of a team.
Since women and girls started participating in sports, strong, confident female
athletes have always had their sexuality questioned. Some famous female athletes, such
as tennis players Billie Jean King and (later) Amelie Mauresmo, have been frank with the
media about their sexual orientation. King, who identifies as bisexual, is an icon for
women’s liberation and a role model for many people; at the same time, she is popular
among women, but her fan base among men is much smaller. Some fans were stunned
when Sheryl Swoopes, three-time WNBA Most Valuable Player, revealed that she was a
lesbian. Although she was previously married and has a son, Swoopes told the world that
she currently has a female life partner.
The pace of self-identification and acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons in U.S. society has accelerated rapidly in
recent years. Many student-athletes who identify as LGBTQ+ are now starting to be open
about their sexuality. At colleges around the country and in athletic departments, there is
clearly a generation gap with respect to sexual orientation. In addition, as has been well
documented, some coaches and players fear having their teams or schools labeled as a
haven for LGBTQ+ athletes. This fear, of course, creates an intimidating environment for
athletes who would like to be more open and honest.
As girls and women have moved into sport, they have sparked changes in sport
clothing by demanding attire that fits their unique needs. In response, apparel companies
have raced to design sport clothing for women and implemented marketing campaigns to
attract buyers of athletic gear designed specifically for women. These developments have
affected both the economy of sport business and cultural attitudes about females in sport.
The sports bra was invented in 1977 to give women participating in sport the
same kind of physical support that men had enjoyed for years. Hinda Miller and Lisa
Lindahl created a prototype for the sports bra by imitating the male athletic supporter that
“pulled the body parts closer to the body” (Sharp 1994). Eventually, their creation was
called the Jogbra, and females quickly adopted it for comfort and safety and to limit
embarrassment and perform uninhibitedly during vigorous activity. It wasn’t long before
clothing companies began marketing versions of the sports bra that not only facilitated
physical activity but also looked attractive. Women began wearing sports bras under their
jerseys, but soon they shed their jerseys in gyms, on courts, and on fields. Female athletes
found the comfort and freedom exhilarating.
As girls and women flocked to sport participation, improper athletic footwear
posed a recurrent issue. Forced to wear sneakers designed for male feet, female athletes
suffered in silence. In particular, female basketball players, who are typically well above
average in size, were forced to wear men’s basketball sneakers, and they complained
about the bulk, weight, and width of the male shoes. On average, a female foot is
narrower and thinner than a male foot. In addition, although foot shape varies from one
female to another, a woman’s foot generally has a wider forefoot and a narrower heel
than a male’s foot. It is no surprise, then, that orthopedists named poorly fitting shoes as a
major cause of the high incidence of sport injuries in women and girls, particularly in the
knee, ankle, and lower leg.
The hijab has existed since the Qur’an and refers to a partition in the literal or
metaphysical sense that separated Muhammad’s house from his wives’ dwellings. Some
Muslim women wear a hijab, which is a head covering. Historically, women have worn a
hijab when they leave their homes and are around males who are not a part of their
immediate family. The hijab is worn for modesty and is meant to give women a certain
amount of privacy and not attract attention to their physical appearance (Khan 2017). The
hijab always covers a woman’s hair and sometimes (depending on region, religion, or
family) her face. In sport, the type of apparel that one wears when participating is usually
appropriate for the activity or sporting event. Swimmers wear swimsuits so that there is
no drag when they swim, leotards are worn in gymnastics so that gymnasts do not snag
their clothing when performing flips, and skiers wear ski suits to protect them from the
cold weather.
For some Muslim women, the hijab is a very important practice in their everyday
lives, and they are unable to take it off. Many sports do not have apparel where one’s
head is covered, and in the past, athletes were prohibited from wearing any type of
headpiece due to safety regulations. Many Muslim women couldn’t play sports until the
invention of the sports hijab. The sports hijab enables Muslim women to maintain
modesty, even when playing a sport. The sports hijab design consists of an aerodynamic
breathable fabric and does not pose a safety concern for women who wear it. Currently,
soccer players, track-and-field runners, and weightlifters wear the sports hijab in their
respective sport. U.S. fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad wore a sports hijab during the 2016 Rio
Olympic games during her fencing competition. She ended up winning a bronze medal in
the competition and is the first female Muslim American athlete who has worn a sports
hijab to earn a medal at the Olympics.
As strong, independent women move into the sport world, they attract multiple
types of attention. A female athlete’s strong and agile body, with its defined musculature,
can be a magnet for millions of viewers. In addition, as clothing trends have changed,
women have shifted from dowdy dresses and kilted skirts to form-fitting swimsuits,
gymnastics leotards, and skimpy outfits on the tennis court. Moreover, though the sports
bra was a technical improvement for women and serves a utilitarian purpose— allowing
women to move freely—it also symbolizes the duplicity in society’s view of women both
as strong athletes and as sex objects.
Female athletes may be looked at as sex objects regardless of whether they want
to be seen that way. In fact, successful female athletes are often judged more by their
appearance than by their athletic success. For example, Jan Stephenson was more famous
for her physical attractiveness than for her golf game, even though she was an excellent
golfer. Similarly, Anna Kournikova long held the title of sexiest female tennis player but
was roundly criticized for her popularity because she never won a singles tournament.
She was in fact ranked among the top 10 players, but that did not mollify critics who
believed that she capitalized on her looks rather than her talent.
J. Global Status of Women in Sport
While the numbers of women in sport continue to rise in the United States, that
trend is not typical around the world. The social system in many nations, particularly
Middle Eastern ones, discourages women and girls from sport participation. Many
countries in the Middle East adhere to a traditional view of women and girls as
subservient to men, and some households prevent women and girls from taking part in
any type of physical activity due to cultural or religious beliefs.
Some female followers of Islam are unable to participate in sport competition
because of a decree that women should be covered in public. This makes it difficult if not
impossible to participate in sports because of sport attire and that they would be
competing in front of a crowd with both male and female spectators. Moreover, in such
cultures, women seeking to participate in sport are seen as threats to the social, moral,
and religious codes of their societies and even as repudiating their culture in favor of
Western influence.
In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, more than 110,000 people saw Nouria Mérah-
Benida win the 1,500-meter run, thus following up on the 1992 Olympic championship
performance of her Algerian countrywoman Hassiba Boulmerka. These two runners have
sparked debate about whether women might break out of the mold of Middle Eastern
tradition and enjoy athletic success. Indeed, at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 60 of the 958
medals awarded went to citizens of Muslim-majority countries—44 to men, 15 to
women, and 1 to a woman in an open or mixed competition
K. Barriers for Women in Sport
Learning about the gains women made in sport during the last few decades may
lead you to think that there is not much more for women to accomplish. But a closer look
reveals that additional changes are necessary to create full equality of opportunity in sport
for females. Perhaps progress will be initiated outside of the sport world as women
continue to gain power and influence in business and affect more of what is portrayed in
the media. As society changes, so does women’s sport. Yet sport can also serve as a
catalyst for change led by confident, determined females with a public stage on which to
share their beliefs and dreams.
The Women’s Sports Foundation has found that interest in sport is similar among
younger boys and girls but that some key differences do exist. Girls tend to start sport
participation a year or two later than boys do, which often means that they have less
experience, skill, and practice than boys of the same age. By age 14, girls drop out of
sport at a rate six times higher than that of boys. In short, girls tend to start participating
in sport later and drop out of it sooner than boys (U.S. Anti-Doping Agency 2012).
Differences also appear with the overall category of females. For instance, girls of color
and those from low-income families typically end their participation in organized sport
sooner than peers who are White or from middle- or higher-income families. In addition,
girls living in urban and rural areas enter sport later and drop out earlier than those living
in suburban communities. Reasons for these differences include household chore
responsibilities, the need to care for younger siblings, lack of funds, transportation issues,
and unsafe neighborhoods.
Women still occupy a small percentage of leadership roles as compared with their
proportion of either the sport population or the at-large population. Perhaps the most
disappointing percentage is for female coaches in collegiate women’s sport. The 2014
percentage of 43 percent is nearly the lowest percentage in history; indeed, in 1972, when
Title IX was enacted, the percentage was 90 percent. Here are some other percentages for
women in significant leadership roles in high school, college, and Olympic sport.
Opportunities for women in professional sport have expanded significantly in
tennis, golf, basketball, and soccer; in fact, in these sports, building a professional career
is a realistic goal for an athlete who is good enough. Some other sports—including
gymnastics, track and field, figure skating, and swimming—offer prize money and
endorsement possibilities now that the Olympics allow professional athletes. Overall,
however, as compared with men, women still struggle to make a career in professional
sport, and in many cases the financial compensation barely covers their expenses.
L. Golden Age of Sport Reborn
Perhaps we’ll recreate the excitement of another “golden age of sport”— and this
time around, it will include women and girls. To reach that goal, significant changes are
still needed in the world of sport. However, they will never fully occur without
concomitant changes in society. The following discussion addresses some changes that
will promote equality. The percentage of women in the workplace is nearing that of men,
but salaries for females still lag those of their male counterparts for doing the same work.
The proverbial glass ceiling also still prevents many women from reaching upper
management. Indeed, workplaces, government agencies, and the courts are all still
dominated by men, yet they can also be used to help eliminate discriminatory practices.
The effort requires us to challenge the rigid sex roles that have historically guided
society, expand our definitions of sexuality, and accept those who are LGBTQ+. Doing
so will help us all find equal places in society.
Indeed, women must aggressively pursue leadership positions in sport
organizations at every level. In 1994, Kathy Woods became the first female president of
the United States Professional Tennis Association, a trade group with a membership of
more than 13,000 tennis teaching professionals. A few years later, Judy Levering
ascended to the presidency of the United States Tennis Association (USTA)—again, the
first woman to do so. Within a few more years, two other women—Jane Brown and Lucy
Garvin—followed their lead to the top job at USTA. In 2015, former professional player
Katrina Adams, who is African American, became the first Black USTA president,
breaking yet another barrier. In addition, Anita DeFrantz of the United States became the
first female elected to the International Olympic Committee. These trailblazers deserve
appreciation —and a new succession of women to follow their lead.
Leaders in women’s sport must take the initiative to look for ways to make their
sports produce revenue so that men become their allies rather than remaining their
competitors. A few colleges have figured out how to earn money from women’s
basketball and gymnastics, but other sports and schools lag. Leaders of specific
professional women’s sports need to build on the attractiveness of their athletes who are
strong, independent women. Parents of girls must also help by encouraging them to take
the first step into exercise and sport at a young age. Even more critically, parents must
support girls through their early teen years, when they are most likely to drop out of
sport. Fathers need to become advocates, role models, and mentors for their daughters,
just as they are for their sons.
During the first half of the 20th century, physical educators encouraged women’s
sport and physical activity in colleges as a route to good health. However, athletics were
deemed too violent, competitive, and aggressive for young women. It wasn’t until the late
1960s, when the women’s movement took hold, that women realized that competitive
athletics were another restriction for them to conquer. In 1972, the U.S. Congress passed
Title IX, which states that no person can be excluded from participation in sport based on
sex in any educational program receiving federal assistance. Title IX set the stage for
years of lobbying by those in control of men’s programs who did not want to give up any
of their funding or perks to women. Numerous lawsuits were filed, and the law was
challenged, but in the end it was reaffirmed. Despite all the positive changes for women
in sport in the second half of the 20th century, women are still underrepresented in sport
leadership, sport business, and the sport media. Continued progress cannot be made
without persistent effort and determination on the part of women and the men that they
can recruit to assist them.
