Brad Cesmat
Caitlin Clark backlash.
June is a tough month to hit the numbers in sports media. Not much is happening, and click counts and impressions are usually soft. HOWEVER, some in our industry have figured out that hating on a woman playing basketball can get their numbers back on track, Silly.
There will always be a segment that doesn’t want to give women the EXACT same media attention as men. I’ve had radio program directors and TV news directors close their doors to remind me that the interest in women’s sports doesn’t bring in the same ratings points or revenue as men’s, and I shouldn’t have done segments in my shows. Fortunately, as far as I know, those people have been shown the door and are no longer in the industry. If you think there’s no bias towards women and sports media, I have a huge pile of snow on the corner of Higley and Riggs in Gilbert to sell you this afternoon when it’s 110 degrees. Just do another NFL story and life goes on is approach by most in our little world.
Too bad IMO…
In 1997, I was the first play-by-play voice of the Phoenix Mercury. At the time, I was well into supporting women’s sports, even though some in the industry thought it was beneath me. I enjoyed the Mercury gig as much as anything I’ve done in my career. Cool to be in on the ground floor of something that has grown so much in popularity.
What I don’t like about the current state of the “W” is the sudden “we are cool, watch us” attitude that the League has tried to push down everyone’s throats at the start of this season. While watching Indiana vs. Chicago last Saturday morning from start to finish, ESPN created a graphic that showed what designers the players were wearing as they entered the arena. Yes, the NBA shows dudes walking in, but they don’t go to the extreme of what brand is worn. An ESPN pre-game interview with Angel Reese made sure to mention and show the Barbie shoes that she wears(felt like a product placement media buy in a movie). The interview, OF COURSE, included a reference to Caitlin Clark, which didn’t sit well with Reese. The broadcast was exemplary. A cheap shot on Clark turned into a social media storm(which is what media companies want). The idea of winning/losing. Competition. Beauty of Basketball. All are secondary to finding something/anything that can be turned into a TV segment Monday-Friday for the talking heads.
Clark comes to Phoenix on June 30th. I can only imagine the Diana vs Caitlin tidal wave that is coming. Never mind that Taurasi is playing at such a high level; instead, we will hear Young Gun vs the Goat. Yep, I’m looking forward to watching the two compete, but this current “bleep” show by our industry towards Clark is not unexpected, just unfortunate…
