Ahh sports… one of the most beloved events across the world. Whether it be baseball, football, basketball, soccer, or any other sports, it is something that people hold dear to their hearts. There’s nothing quite like going to the stadiums and watching some classic professional sporting events. The world series. The Super Bowl. The NBA finals! The world cup!!! Alright, I think you get my point. However, when you look behind the scenes, there are some struggles that people don’t always take notice of or care all that much about. Regardless, I am here to talk about one of the biggest struggles this beloved set of activities has been dealing with for the longest time, and that is the problem of gender equality in terms of employment.
Well you might be wondering, what does that mean exactly? To put it simply, women, as hard as they have fought, have found it immensely difficult to take hold of coaching positions in men’s professional sports. To this very day we are seeing women all over the sporting scene fight tooth and nail for the opportunity to get these positions, many of them being ignored completely. You may not know this, but the NHL didn’t have a full-time coach until August of last year, and the NBA just saw a woman take hold of a head-coach position for the first time last week, and that was not even because she was hired for that position. But anyway, more on that one later. The point is, there has been a terrible struggle in the attempt to integrate men and women into the same leagues. Don’t get me wrong though, it definitely has not been impossible, and that is what I am here to share today. I am going to introduce you to some of the women who have fought and successfully made their way into the world of men’s professional sports, a world that for the longest time, seemed to reject the idea entirely. So, with all of that out of the way, let’s get right into it.
NFL
We first turn to the wonder world that is the NFL. Would you be surprised if I told you that there are actually over ten women who hold coaching positions in the NFL today? Some may be surprised to hear it being so low, but some might think that is quite the high number. Wherever your surprise lands, let’s look at who started this breakthrough. This coach’s name is Jen Welter, and she actually made history twice, and both times in the same year. It started in February of 2015, when she was the first woman to be hired as a coach in any level of professional men’s football. She followed that up with making history again in July of 2015, when she was hired as an assistant coach for the Arizona Cardinals, working with the inside linebackers during training camp and pre-season. She stayed with them for a number of years, and while she is no longer coaching in the NFL, she is still coaching, and is working to help other women break into these positions. Her breakthrough has given the chance for over 10 women to find coaching jobs in the NFL today like I said before, and that number is only expected to grow. Not only that, but there is also now a female official. Hopefully we will continue to see breakthroughs in this wonderful sport, but let’s move onto our next example.
MLB
Next we move to the land of the MLB, where there are actually two notable cases from very recently. First off, in March of 2020, the New York Yankees hired both Rachel Belkovec and Alyssa Nakken to be hitting coaches. This made Belkovec the first woman to be put into the head hitting coach position, and Nakken had been named the first female assistant coach in the MLB when she was hired by the San Francisco Giants in January of 2020. These aren’t the only two women making history in this sport though, as the Miami Marlins hired Kim Ng as the first female general manager in the MLB in November of 2020. These are very special moments for the sport, because while there are a lot of women working in various positions across the MLB, there are still very few female head coaches and assistant coaches, and very few female employees in the main parts of the front offices as well. As time goes on, as with the other sports, we hope to see massive growth in the near future in terms of women taking up roles like these. Now, before I close up, there is one last example I would like to share with you.
NBA
Lastly we travel to the beauty of the NBA, where perhaps the most shocking example of this whole situation comes to light. By this, I mean that, as I mentioned earlier, we just saw a woman take up a head-coaching role for the very first time a week ago, two days before the end of 2020. Not only was it the first time, but it is not even a permanent role, as she only was given the opportunity when the appointed head coach was given a one game ban and someone else had to take the reigns. That person was Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Spurs, who normally serves as the team’s assistant coach. Her appointment for that game has started to make people ask when a woman will finally be hired to be a full-time head coach in the NBA, and while we do not have the answer to that question at this time, one can only hope that the day looms close.
As someone who is a total sports nerd, even I found it surprising how female coaches there are across the world of men’s sports. Even though I have said it multiple times to this point, I must say again that we can only hope that moving forward, we see these small numbers increase season by season, and for any other sports fans reading this, I hope you feel the same. With that being said, that is all for today’s article. From us here at Blind Boys Politics, have a great weekend everyone.
