Diversity and equality in sports are hotly contested and extremely polarizing topics. The NFL and MLB have implemented initiatives when it comes to hiring and promoting minority coaches and executives. Teams that hire and promote minority candidates receive additional draft picks. There are more women and individuals from various ethnic backgrounds in both leagues than ever before as owners, executives, and coaches.
However, there still remains bias and exclusive hiring practices throughout sports with stories of such discrimination as turning candidates away because they’re not “the right minority” or not offering equal pay for equal work. The pay gap between men and women in sports is still immense, whether it be for female athletes, coaches, or executives.
A major issue that persists in college sports is that male athletes have far superior facilities, whether it be weight rooms, locker rooms, or meeting rooms. The harsh reality is that men’s sports both professional and collegiate are far more profitable than women’s sports because they maintain a larger fan base. A simple solution to this problem lies in exposure and visibility. There’s no hiding the fact that women’s sports are not as often televised as men’s sports because the networks don’t have huge financial commitments to do so.
Another issue is that female athletes don’t receive as many or as lucrative endorsement deals as male athletes, and women’s sports don’t have as many sponsors let alone big name sponsors as men’s sports. These issues need to be rectified in order for us to not only move forward as a sports world, but also do so as a society. Progress has been made in some areas, but there’s still work to be done and in the world of today we can still do more.. We have to do more.
