Lack of Fan Support for Women’s Sports

Women’s sports are, for the most part, overlooked in comparison to men’s sports. Women’s sports are cast aside into the men’s shadow. A variety of female athletes at Wilson have felt neglected from their own community and school. This leads to the question of why don’t women’s sports get the same amount of attention that men’s sports get?

Recently, Wilson College Women’s Basketball Team has made history. The Phoenix (9-12) now have 9 wins on the season which is the most for the program since the 2002-03 season. Although the program has changed tremendously, they still get little to no support from fellow students, staff, and even faculty from Wilson.

Jordyn Day ’19, a member of the Women’s Basketball team, stated, “We are having the best season that this school has ever had in years. Yet people still don’t come to our games, and if they do go, they end up leaving at half time, and other athletes from other teams do this as well. I have even seen professors leave before our game started, and it’s not fair. We get no respect at all.”

Although Women’s Basketball is making history, they are not the only ones who feel neglected. Sierra Hill ’21, a volleyball player, said, “We didn’t get much of a crowd at all this year. Even when we won our first game, not a lot of people were there, but I’m sure when men’s volleyball start, that their games will be packed.”

Every year these female athletes put time, heart, and dedication into the sport that they love, but yet still get little recognition from the campus.
Next year the school will have their first Men’s Baseball Team. With the school adding Men’s Baseball, does that mean that softball will have less attendance at their games?

Ashley Horn ’18, a member of the softball team, comments, “I don’t think more people will attend the men’s game because it’s more of an out of the way trip than the softball field. I do think they will receive support because it’s their first season, but the softball team always has supportive fans.”

Not only does female sports get neglected at the collegiate level, but it is also neglected at the professional level and has even resulted in unfair pay gaps between the women’s and men’s sport.

Horn went on to mention, “I don’t think women’s sport have much attention, but I also think it depends on the team and their record.”

Women in the athletic field have been constantly overlooked, despite performing at a high level, and support from fans make a huge difference. Talent and athletic abilities are not shown by only men, but by both men and women. Support the hard work that women put in to play the sport that they love.