Sports are awesome. More specifically, hockey is awesome. But I can’t be the only one who’s noticed that every sport we watch starts male athletes.
Sure, there are leagues like the WNBA, but we really only watch female athletes if our country is doing really well. See, for example, the Women’s World Cup.
As a feminist and hockey fanatic, I love the idea of women playing hockey. But where the heck are they?
This year, though, things are different. We’re finally starting to realize that women are athletes, too, and should be reimbursed as such.
Finally, female hockey players are going to be paid the same as male hockey players! Right?
Well.
Sure, women are being paid for playing hockey. Which is awesome! Except the yearly salary for these athletes is between $10-25k. Compared to male hockey players, who make up to $14 million per year.
So, we’re making progress. But we’ve still got a ways to go.
There are four teams in the newly formed National Women’s Hockey League, or NWHL: the Buffalo Beauts, the Connecticut Whale, the Boston Pride, and the New York Riveters. (Go Riveters! 💪)
All of the games are streamed for free (!!) on the NWHL website. But here’s the thing: no one is showing these games on television. Problematic much?
I absolutely love that I can watch women play hockey for free. But can we really not devote any air time to female sports unless it’s a major tournament like the Women’s World Cup or the Olympics?
And even then, the women’s hockey games during the 2014 Olympic Games were all on during the workday in the United States.
Why is it that we refuse to accept women as athletes? Is it because we think less of them as athletes? Sure, it’s hard to watch women when the media hardly gives them any screen time. But when they do, we have to show up!
So, I’m going to watch as many NWHL games as I can this year. I have to show them that I care. Who’s with me?
I was actually just thinking about this the other day day how unfair it is that everyone gets excited about NFL and male sports but people don’t give a crap about women sports. I don’t think it will ever change either, to be honest.
Ugh, I hope it changes! But I have the feeling it won’t be for a while.
Until sponsors start picking up women and until teams start paying the females 50 million dollars, they will go unnoticed. Just for the record, I remember when Little League first opened up to females (past the time I could play and I was better than most of the boys) and all these years later, they are still few in numbers compared to the boys! We’ve come a long way but have so far to go
Ugh, that’s so frustrating! I agree about having sponsors and women needing to be paid a lot. It’s unfair, but it’s the world we live in. Womp.
I’m not a big sports person, but if I were to watch any, I’d love to watch women. I can’t believe what a huge difference in pay there is. That’s just crazy.
Isn’t it?!
I was a female athlete in a predominant male sport back in the day. Although I was not getting paid to play, it was pretty glorious. I do not really know why female athletes are not given as much respect as male athletes…it is mind boggling.
That’s so awesome! Can I ask why you stopped playing?
Although I was district, national champion AND an all-state athlete, I could not get a team to even consider me at a collegiate level. I wrestled on a high school level and when looking for a college to attend, I applied for some with wrestling but none had female wrestling. I wrote to their athletic dept…but I guess I was not taken serious.
That’s so frustrating! I can’t believe they wouldn’t take you seriously. But at least you put your best effort out there. Congrats on all of your wins!
Thanks!