You've seen the video by now.
You've seen men reading the tweets that Julie DiCaro and Sarah Spain receive. The worst kind of tweets, the hateful, misogynistic, disgusting tweets they get for committing the crime of reporting on sports while being women.
So ... what are we going to do about it?
What can we do about it? How can we as men in this sporting culture not only show support for our women colleagues but stand up for them while not being paternalistic, while not acting like we have to be Prince Charming slaying the dragon to save the damsels in distress?
To get an idea, I did something that a lot of the guys who tweet awful things to female sports reporters probably don't do that much - I actually talked to a woman.
My sister, actually. A sports writer at the Buffalo News and former president of the Association for Women in Sports Media. She's taken her share of abuse, too. The Bona Bandwagon message board back in the late 1990s used to criticize her looks and her clothing regularly when she covered the team. By contrast, the worst thing I was called on that same message board was a geeky dork - and my reporting put the program on probation.
Here's what my sister said we can do:
“I get that if you call guys out for bad behavior it may look paternalistic. And I get that idea, but I think it’s all in the tone. If someone is being a jackass online, I think a well-worded remark would be helpful. Or even a calling out like ‘Argue the point not her gender.’ I think it’s important to call out people on their bad behavior, although some people are looking for the drama. So nothing is a clear win. It’s all hanging chads. BUT there is a chance a dude makes a sexist/harassing comment without thinking and getting called out on it may help correct that behavior. The assholes, much like the poor in the New Testament, will always be with us. Where bro culture is dangerous is when guys on the edges join in. Those are the guys for whom there is still hope.
In a more subtle way, I think just treating women sports writers as equals is important. If guys care, then seek out and tweet out links by good women writers. Tweet back praise. Treat them like colleagues. Respect is earned but it’s also learned.”