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Has Coverage Of The Olympics Been Sexist?
ResumeIf you've been following the Olympics, you may have noticed a trend in the way female athletes are discussed.
One of the first examples was just two days into the games, when Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu won gold and broke the world record in the 400-meter individual medley. The camera turned to her husband and coach, Shane Tusup, and NBC announcer Dan Hicks said, "There's the guy responsible for turning Katinkia Hozzhu, his wife, into a whole different swimmer!"
Over the past weeks we've seen many more examples, including another NBC announcer who said the female USA gymnasts talking between routines "might as well be standing in the middle of a mall."
Do you have problems with the way female athletes are described at the Olympics and elsewhere? Does it make you or your family less inclined to watch the games? What can be done to change it?
Guests
Melissa Ludtke, journalist and contributor to WBUR's Cognoscenti. As a reporter for Sports Illustrated, she won equal access for women sportswriters when she took Major League Baseball to federal court in 1978. She tweets @MelissaLudtke.
Nicole Auerbach, USA Today Sports reporter. She tweets @NicoleAuerbach.
This segment aired on August 18, 2016.