Last week we had the first woman head coach of a men's NBA D- League. This week we have the first woman to broadcast a world series game on the radio. On October 28th, Suzyn Waldman became that first woman. For more than two decades, Waldman has covered the Yankees and has been the "play- by- play woman, an analyst, a host and a reporter", but had never been given the opportunity to broadcast a world series game until now.
Waldman was the second woman to become a full-time commentator for a major league Baseball team, as well as the second woman in history to announce play-by-play coverage for MLB. The last five years, Waldman has worked alongside John Sterling who is the play-by-play man for WCBS radio.
Female sports broadcasters are becoming increasingly more prevalent, yet most remain relegated to the sidelines conducting post-game wrap-ups or interviews. The last few weeks will have a profound effect on the sports world for women. Women are once again showing that they can succeed very well in what was once a very male dominated arena. Kudos to the owners and managers of the teams who took a chance and allowed these two women to shine.
http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/News-And-Events/Womens-Sports-News.aspx
At least we're making some progress! I know for a fact that there are women announcers I can't stand (Mary Carillo - tennis), but there are also men announcers I can't stand, so it's not about women being less capable than men. It's like everything else: personality. It is not an issue of how well a woman can do this job.
ReplyDeleteOh Darla, I knew that you could not go a week in the blogging world without making me laugh! This time, it's just in your comment.
ReplyDeleteKim - perhaps I am just out of tune with these issues, but I really can't believe that there are so few female announcers. How about owners? Are there any of those?