Women Don’t Stand a Chance In all aspects of life women have been looked upon as the weaker sex, especially in sports. In the past women were discriminated against as they were limited as to which sport they could participate in. Most coaches were male, and there were very few scholarships given to them because all the money was given to the male athletes. To prevent discrimination against women in sports, Patsy T. Mink started Title IX in 1972 which helped stop discrimination against women (Overview of Title IX | AAUW). Since the creation of Title IX, women’s sports have made a large increase in many areas, but women’s sports are still seen as the weaker sports. For example, when comparing baseball and softball, baseball is still seen as the stronger sport in all aspects. Professional baseball players are paid more, they receive more media and T.V. time, and beauty doesn’t play as big of a role as it does for softball. In 1869, Major League Baseball was started for men, 128 years later; in 1991the Women’s Pro Softball League for women was started. The WPSL was later changed to the National Pro Fastpitch on November 21, 2002 (Profastpitch.com: About NPF). In all physical aspects of the game, softball has been proven to be the harder sport compared to baseball. On FSN’s show Sports Science, there was an episode comparing baseball to softball mainly comparing the pitchers and hitters. Jennie Finch, Olympic Gold Medalist pitcher, was compared to a 95 mph baseball pitcher. In the first part of the experiment, the force at which the ball reaches the plate was compared. The baseball reached home with a force of 2,411 lbs, while the softball was off the charts as her pitch broke the machine shattering the glass because it had too much force. Then the hitting aspect was compared and it was proven that it is much harder to hit a softball because of its upward movement compared to a baseball with downward movement (Sports Science: Baseball vs. Softball). A baseball batter could easily adjust his hands down, while it is more difficult for a softball player to adjust hands up. Arizona Diamondbacks prospective, Bryan Burne could easily hit a 95 mph baseball pitcher, but when it came to softball he couldn’t even hit the ball (Sports Science: Baseball vs. Softball). Softball has been proven to be harder than baseball, but it still doesn’t receive the recognition it deserves. The salary of the average softball player cannot compare to that of the average baseball player. A professional softball player makes between $2,500 and $5,000 per season, which lasts three months (Profastpitch.com: About NPF). The top paid baseball player, Alex Rodriguez, makes $32,000,000 per year and the minimum paid player makes $400,000 per year (MLB Salaries - CBSSports.com). Since the softball league isn’t fully developed, and is only made up of four teams compared to the 30 teams of the MLB, they don’t have the funds to pay their players year round salaries like the baseball players. The softball can only support their players during the three-month season. Baseball players are living like kings, while the softball players who are just as good or even better have to work other jobs to support themselves. Softball players cannot make a living from playing professional softball; therefore they work extra hard balancing softball and work to support themselves. Professional baseball is constantly being played on T.V., but softball is never or very rarely played on television. Almost everyday there is a professional baseball game being played on T.V. live on one of many stations. ESPN, ESPN2, FOX, TBS, and MLB Network are the five stations, which broadcast baseball daily throughout the season (National Broadcasts | MLB.com: Schedule). Softball on the other hand is rarely played on T.V. In 2008, the NPF had a partnership with Fox Sportsnet (FSN) to broadcast eleven games, but they were played on tape delay and were televised during mid-week afternoon timeslots. Currently the games are only televised for those regions where the game is played or can be watched online, but there is no national broadcast schedule (Profastpitch.com: About NPF). Softball has clearly not been given the support it deserves because people would rather watch men play baseball than women play softball. Beauty plays a big role in every professional sport, but it seems like it matters more to the women. Most women who are known professional athletes aren’t known for their skill, but rather for their beauty. Many female athletes such as, Lauren Jackson: professional basketball player, Amy Acuff: Olympic high jumper, Anna Kournikova: professional tennis player, Gabrielle Reece: professional volleyball player, and Jennie Finch: professional softball player, have been gaining more recognition off the field than on the field (August 2004 Olympian Too Sexy for Own Good?). A female’s athletic success may appear for a few seconds on the news or even ESPN, but their beauty appears longer as many of them pose for magazines, which millions around the world buy. Therefore they become more known for their body and image rather than their athletic ability. Donna Lopiano, chief executive of the Women's Sports Foundation in Long Island, N.Y. said, “It's a predominantly male culture. They're deciding what sells, and they're not willing to sell legitimate female athletic achievement. ... It's a way that culture has tried to diminish a woman by relegating her to sex object or decorative object" (August 2004 Olympian Too Sexy for Own Good?). Lopiano is saying that men dominate the world and want to see pictures of women posing in swimsuits or other clothing. Women aren’t being sold to the public because of their athletic achievements, but rather because of their body and ability to model. Softball has always been looked upon as the weaker sport when compared to its male counterpart baseball. The women receive less pay than the men, they are played on television less than men, and they are sold for their beauty rather than their athletic ability. Personally I believe softball should receive more recognition than it does because female athletes have a physical disadvantage compared to men because they are naturally weaker, but women still work past this to be a better athlete than the males do. Works Cited "August 2004 Olympian Too Sexy for Own Good? - Women's Sports Foundation." Home - Women's Sports Foundation. Web. 4 May 2011. <http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/Articles/Issues/Media-and- Publicity/A/August-2004-OlympianToo-Sexy-for-Own-Good.aspx>. This article was very helpful and helped me learn more about the role that beauty plays in sports. It said that women are being sold more for their modeling career with sports rather than their athletic ability. These women spend hours working to be the best they can at a specific sport, but they are looked at as a model, not an athlete. Women are seen with success in sports on the news for a few seconds, but their beauty is seen throughout the world as they pose in magazines that are sold throughout the world. "Female Athletes Vs. Stereotype: Does Being a Women and an Athlete Really Make You More Masculine Than Feminine?, Page 3 of 3." Associated Content from Yahoo! - Associatedcontent.com. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2052839/female_athletes_vs_stereoty pe_does_pg3.html?cat=7>. This article doesn't have to do with softball specifically, but it has to do with female athletes and their femininity. Many people think that sports are considered masculine and in order to compete in sports you have to give up some of your femininity. This article proves that this isn't true and that a female athlete doesn't have to give up feminine traits in order to be an athlete. Athletes were compared to nonathletes and they were just as feminine as each other. "MLB Salaries - CBSSports.com." Sports - CBSSports.com Sports News, Fantasy Scores, Sports Video. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/salaries/top50>. I used this article to research the highest paid baseball players. For one part of my research I am focusing on the difference of pay between men and women because baseball players are paid way higher than softball players. This website shows a list of the top twenty-five highest paid baseball players of 2011. I used this just to get statistics and facts about the pay in the Major League of Baseball. "National Broadcasts | MLB.com: Schedule." The Official Site of Major League Baseball | MLB.com: Homepage. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/broadcasts/national.jsp?tcid=mm_mlb_sch edule>. I used this website to get on average how many baseball games are played on T.V. This isn't an article; it is just the national broadcast schedule. There is a baseball game almost every day on TV being played live on stations such as FOX, ESPN, ESPN2, TBLS, and MLBN. This is helpful to my research because it helps me with the comparison of the media coverage between professional baseball and softball. Professional baseball is always played on TV and has a larger media coverage compared to softball. "Overview of Title IX | AAUW." Breaking through Barriers for Women and Girls | AAUW. Web. 3 May 2011. <http://www.aauw.org/act/laf/library/assault_titleix.cfm>. I used this article to find brief information of Title IX. Title IX plays a big role in women's sports and helping women gain recognition. This isn't the focus of my paper, but I thought I needed a brief overview of it because without this article women's sports wouldn't be how it is today. Women probably wouldn't even be playing sports if it wasn't for this article. "Profastpitch.com: About NPF." Profastpitch.com: Home. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://www.profastpitch.com/about/>. I used this article to learn more about the National Professional Fastpitch League (NPF). I didn't know much about the NPF, I just knew there was a professional softball league. I found this on the NPF website in the about section. From this article I learned about the history of the league and where it came from. Before the league was named the NPF, it was formerly known as Women's Pro Softball League. Also from this article I got the media coverage on T.V. In 2008, the NPF had a partnership with Fox Sportsnet (FSN) to broadcast eleven games, but they were played on tape delay and were televised during mid-week afternoon timeslots. Also currently the games are only televised for those regions where the game is played or can be watched online, but there is no national broadcast schedule. This shows that professional softball is rarely televised. "Profastpitch.com: FAQ's." Profastpitch.com: Home. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. <http://www.profastpitch.com/about/faqs/>. I used this article to find out more information about the NPF. This article is from the NPF website under the FAQ section. This article told me the pay of softball players which helped me with the comparison of pay between softball players and softball players. It said the maximum and minimum pay for softball players and also unlike baseball players who get paid salary for the entire year, softball players are only paid during the three month season. This section also talked about how many teams are in the NPF which is currently only four. Also tickets to these games are usually around five dollars. This is helpful because it helps with comparison to baseball which is a much larger league with a lot more teams and also because baseball tickets are sometimes over hundred dollars and the people are willing to pay that price just to watch this game. "Sports Science: Baseball vs. Softball - Jennie Finch - Baseball Videos | ISport.com." Baseball | ISport.com. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://baseball.isport.com/baseball- videos/play/sports- science-baseball-vs-softball-jennie-finch-5708/>. This is a link to a video from ESPN's show Sports Science. This episode is a comparison between the sports baseball and softball. During this show it was proven that softball is harder than baseball. This supports my research because if softball is physically harder, why do softball players receive less pay, have less media coverage, and have to make themselves look good in order for people to follow them or recognize them.
In all aspects of life women have been looked upon as the weaker sex, especially in sports. In the past women were discriminated against as they were limited as to which sport they could participate in. Most coaches were male, and there were very few scholarships given to them because all the money was given to the male athletes. To prevent discrimination against women in sports, Patsy T. Mink started Title IX in 1972 which helped stop discrimination against women (Overview of Title IX | AAUW). Since the creation of Title IX, women’s sports have made a large increase in many areas, but women’s sports are still seen as the weaker sports. For example, when comparing baseball and softball, baseball is still seen as the stronger sport in all aspects. Professional baseball players are paid more, they receive more media and T.V. time, and beauty doesn’t play as big of a role as it does for softball.
In 1869, Major League Baseball was started for men, 128 years later; in 1991the Women’s Pro Softball League for women was started. The WPSL was later changed to the National Pro Fastpitch on November 21, 2002 (Profastpitch.com: About NPF). In all physical aspects of the game, softball has been proven to be the harder sport compared to baseball. On FSN’s show Sports Science, there was an episode comparing baseball to softball mainly comparing the pitchers and hitters. Jennie Finch, Olympic Gold Medalist pitcher, was compared to a 95 mph baseball pitcher. In the first part of the experiment, the force at which the ball reaches the plate was compared. The baseball reached home with a force of 2,411 lbs, while the softball was off the charts as her pitch broke the machine shattering the glass because it had too much force. Then the hitting aspect was compared and it was proven that it is much harder to hit a softball because of its upward movement compared to a baseball with downward movement (Sports Science: Baseball vs. Softball). A baseball batter could easily adjust his hands down, while it is more difficult for a softball player to adjust hands up. Arizona Diamondbacks prospective, Bryan Burne could easily hit a 95 mph baseball pitcher, but when it came to softball he couldn’t even hit the ball (Sports Science: Baseball vs. Softball). Softball has been proven to be harder than baseball, but it still doesn’t receive the recognition it deserves.
The salary of the average softball player cannot compare to that of the average baseball player. A professional softball player makes between $2,500 and $5,000 per season, which lasts three months (Profastpitch.com: About NPF). The top paid baseball player, Alex Rodriguez, makes $32,000,000 per year and the minimum paid player makes $400,000 per year (MLB Salaries - CBSSports.com). Since the softball league isn’t fully developed, and is only made up of four teams compared to the 30 teams of the MLB, they don’t have the funds to pay their players year round salaries like the baseball players. The softball can only support their players during the three-month season. Baseball players are living like kings, while the softball players who are just as good or even better have to work other jobs to support themselves. Softball players cannot make a living from playing professional softball; therefore they work extra hard balancing softball and work to support themselves.
Professional baseball is constantly being played on T.V., but softball is never or very rarely played on television. Almost everyday there is a professional baseball game being played on T.V. live on one of many stations. ESPN, ESPN2, FOX, TBS, and MLB Network are the five stations, which broadcast baseball daily throughout the season (National Broadcasts | MLB.com: Schedule). Softball on the other hand is rarely played on T.V. In 2008, the NPF had a partnership with Fox Sportsnet (FSN) to broadcast eleven games, but they were played on tape delay and were televised during mid-week afternoon timeslots. Currently the games are only televised for those regions where the game is played or can be watched online, but there is no national broadcast schedule (Profastpitch.com: About NPF). Softball has clearly not been given the support it deserves because people would rather watch men play baseball than women play softball.
Beauty plays a big role in every professional sport, but it seems like it matters more to the women. Most women who are known professional athletes aren’t known for their skill, but rather for their beauty. Many female athletes such as, Lauren Jackson: professional basketball player, Amy Acuff: Olympic high jumper, Anna Kournikova: professional tennis player, Gabrielle Reece: professional volleyball player, and Jennie Finch: professional softball player, have been gaining more recognition off the field than on the field (August 2004 Olympian Too Sexy for Own Good?). A female’s athletic success may appear for a few seconds on the news or even ESPN, but their beauty appears longer as many of them pose for magazines, which millions around the world buy. Therefore they become more known for their body and image rather than their athletic ability. Donna Lopiano, chief executive of the Women's Sports Foundation in Long Island, N.Y. said, “It's a predominantly male culture. They're deciding what sells, and they're not willing to sell legitimate female athletic achievement. ... It's a way that culture has tried to diminish a woman by relegating her to sex object or decorative object" (August 2004 Olympian Too Sexy for Own Good?). Lopiano is saying that men dominate the world and want to see pictures of women posing in swimsuits or other clothing. Women aren’t being sold to the public because of their athletic achievements, but rather because of their body and ability to model.
Softball has always been looked upon as the weaker sport when compared to its male counterpart baseball. The women receive less pay than the men, they are played on television less than men, and they are sold for their beauty rather than their athletic ability. Personally I believe softball should receive more recognition than it does because female athletes have a physical disadvantage compared to men because they are naturally weaker, but women still work past this to be a better athlete than the males do.
Works Cited
"August 2004 Olympian Too Sexy for Own Good? - Women's Sports Foundation." Home - Women's Sports Foundation. Web. 4 May 2011. <http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/Articles/Issues/Media-and- Publicity/A/August-2004-OlympianToo-Sexy-for-Own-Good.aspx>.
This article was very helpful and helped me learn more about the role that beauty plays in sports. It said that women are being sold more for their modeling career with sports rather than their athletic ability. These women spend hours working to be the best they can at a specific sport, but they are looked at as a model, not an athlete. Women are seen with success in sports on the news for a few seconds, but their beauty is seen throughout the world as they pose in magazines that are sold throughout the world.
"Female Athletes Vs. Stereotype: Does Being a Women and an Athlete Really Make You More Masculine Than Feminine?, Page 3 of 3." Associated Content from Yahoo! - Associatedcontent.com. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2052839/female_athletes_vs_stereoty pe_does_pg3.html?cat=7>.
This article doesn't have to do with softball specifically, but it has to do with female athletes and their femininity. Many people think that sports are considered masculine and in order to compete in sports you have to give up some of your femininity. This article proves that this isn't true and that a female athlete doesn't have to give up feminine traits in order to be an athlete. Athletes were compared to nonathletes and they were just as feminine as each other.
"MLB Salaries - CBSSports.com." Sports - CBSSports.com Sports News, Fantasy Scores, Sports Video. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/salaries/top50>.
I used this article to research the highest paid baseball players. For one part of my research I am focusing on the difference of pay between men and women because baseball players are paid way higher than softball players. This website shows a list of the top twenty-five highest paid baseball players of 2011. I used this just to get statistics and facts about the pay in the Major League of Baseball.
"National Broadcasts | MLB.com: Schedule." The Official Site of Major League Baseball | MLB.com: Homepage. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/broadcasts/national.jsp?tcid=mm_mlb_sch edule>.
I used this website to get on average how many baseball games are played on T.V. This isn't an article; it is just the national broadcast schedule. There is a baseball game almost every day on TV being played live on stations such as FOX, ESPN, ESPN2, TBLS, and MLBN. This is helpful to my research because it helps me with the comparison of the media coverage between professional baseball and softball. Professional baseball is always played on TV and has a larger media coverage compared to softball.
"Overview of Title IX | AAUW." Breaking through Barriers for Women and Girls | AAUW. Web. 3 May 2011. <http://www.aauw.org/act/laf/library/assault_titleix.cfm>.
I used this article to find brief information of Title IX. Title IX plays a big role in women's sports and helping women gain recognition. This isn't the focus of my paper, but I thought I needed a brief overview of it because without this article women's sports wouldn't be how it is today. Women probably wouldn't even be playing sports if it wasn't for this article.
"Profastpitch.com: About NPF." Profastpitch.com: Home. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://www.profastpitch.com/about/>.
I used this article to learn more about the National Professional Fastpitch League (NPF). I didn't know much about the NPF, I just knew there was a professional softball league. I found this on the NPF website in the about section. From this article I learned about the history of the league and where it came from. Before the league was named the NPF, it was formerly known as Women's Pro Softball League. Also from this article I got the media coverage on T.V. In 2008, the NPF had a partnership with Fox Sportsnet (FSN) to broadcast eleven games, but they were played on tape delay and were televised during mid-week afternoon timeslots. Also currently the games are only televised for those regions where the game is played or can be watched online, but there is no national broadcast schedule. This shows that professional softball is rarely televised.
"Profastpitch.com: FAQ's." Profastpitch.com: Home. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. <http://www.profastpitch.com/about/faqs/>.
I used this article to find out more information about the NPF. This article is from the NPF website under the FAQ section. This article told me the pay of softball players which helped me with the comparison of pay between softball players and softball players. It said the maximum and minimum pay for softball players and also unlike baseball players who get paid salary for the entire year, softball players are only paid during the three month season. This section also talked about how many teams are in the NPF which is currently only four. Also tickets to these games are usually around five dollars. This is helpful because it helps with comparison to baseball which is a much larger league with a lot more teams and also because baseball tickets are sometimes over hundred dollars and the people are willing to pay that price just to watch this game.
"Sports Science: Baseball vs. Softball - Jennie Finch - Baseball Videos | ISport.com." Baseball | ISport.com. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://baseball.isport.com/baseball- videos/play/sports- science-baseball-vs-softball-jennie-finch-5708/>.
This is a link to a video from ESPN's show Sports Science. This episode is a comparison between the sports baseball and softball. During this show it was proven that softball is harder than baseball. This supports my research because if softball is physically harder, why do softball players receive less pay, have less media coverage, and have to make themselves look good in order for people to follow them or recognize them.