A "Rare Win" My Arse
Why I'm calling out Forbes for their false headline about women's sports.
Earlier this week I was scrolling through the ole Twitter Machine (I refuse to call it “X”), minding my own business, when the viewership numbers for the US Open Tennis Championships started rolling in.
I saw it from Sportico first:
Incredible, right?!
Incredible, massive, huge!
But then (because there’s always a “but”) I saw this tweet from Forbes:
My inner monologue went something like this: “I’m sorry. Did I read that correctly? Does that tweet say “rare win”? [Reads tweet again.] Oh my god, it does. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
My first reaction was to blast Forbes for this ridiculous “rare win” description. But because I’m [sometimes] a responsible consumer of information, I thought maybe the actual article would explain the take. So I read it.
The lede:
“The dramatic win by American Coco Guaff, 19, in the U.S. Open proved to be a rare ratings breakthrough moment for women’s sports as the Saturday afternoon game trounced the men’s Sunday final in viewership and broke the ESPN record for the most-watched women’s Grand Slam final.”
A “rare ratings breakthrough moment for women’s sports.”
Huh.
I scrolled.
Viewership numbers broken down.
Some comparisons to other channels and college football.
The end.
Nothing to support the statement that this was a “rare ratings breakthrough” or the headline that this was a “rare win” for women’s sports ratings. Nothing to explain the take.
Inner monologue: “It’s blasting time.”
I’m sure Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, the breaking news reporter who wrote this article, is a delightful human, but her headline and lede are not only irresponsible—they’re flat-out wrong.
The popularity of women’s sports is exploding, and the ratings breakthroughs are not rare—they are constant.
Literally every week I share with my podcast audience and Twitter followers a new attendance or viewership record in women’s sports. This week, for example:
Last week:
As a fun little exercise, I googled “women's sports viewership numbers” and the third and fourth results were articles FROM FORBES about the growth of women’s sports.
You get the point.
But Mary didn’t. And that’s what makes me so angry—the numbers were RIGHT THERE at her disposal, but she chose instead to perpetuate the false narrative that women’s sports continue to exist on the periphery.
There are plenty of us out there beating this drum, but it’s not enough. That’s why I’m calling you out, Mary. You have to be better. Everyone has to be better.
Women’s sports (and their fans) deserve it.
…. From Forbes!! 🤦🏼♀️. Good for you for pointing this out!