In 8th grade Civics, we learn that the Constitution states that all men are equal. In 8th grade, we also hear several boys try to assert that the Constitution only explicitly says all men are equal, not women, incorrectly insinuating that men are superior than women..  However, it is clear that despite all men being equal, some of mankind are more equal than others in sports. More specifically, it is clear how men are unfairly favored in sports over women.

I’m sure every middle school teacher is looking forward to the death of the “67” meme popularized by Lebron James. I’m also sure that most middle school teachers are tired of people throwing things into trash cans and then exclaiming “Kobe!” or “Lebron!” Despite these examples just seem like middle schoolers referencing sports pop culture, there is indeed a deeper meaning to this. We see on social media how most of the sports memes are related to a male sports player. Even when looking up “funny sports memes” on Google, the first images that pop up are of male sports players. I don’t believe I have ever seen a new popular piece of slang like “67”, but relating to Paige Bueckers. The gender gap in sports memes is reflective of how society typically values the male over the female in sports and there is an evident lack of coverage of female sports

Second, there is an extreme double standard in sports. In sports, women are still being stereotyped and boxed into just being a child carrier. Many people believe that female athletes who have children or are pondering having children have to choose between their career or their family. Despite this, not many people bat an eye when a male athlete that is a father to children is on the field playing a sport. Why is it that female athletes are obliged by society to tend to the house and the children while male athletes don’t experience this standard? Is it not true that both are the parents to the child? To elaborate, many people will commend male athletes for being muscular, like Dwayne Johnson or Lebron James. However, female athletes such as Serena Williams are scorned for having apparent muscles. Some sports fans will even go out on a limb and call muscular female athletes unattractive. Furthermore, while male athletes are typically interviewed with questions about their performance in a game, female athletes are questioned about their thoughts on motherhood, parenting, and marriage. This ultimately furthers antiquated and outdated gender roles.

 Going back to the title of this article, let’s talk about the “Nice Catch Cheer!” meme. This meme originates from the Tubi movie, “Sidelined: The QB and Me.” On TikTok, people would recreate the scene, intentionally dramatizing the response of when the female responds, “Not my name, Quarterback!” whiny and high pitched. Similarly, many female athletes are seen as dramatic and belligerent for showing disappointment after losing a game. An example is Serena Williams’ behavior after the 2018 U.S Open Tennis Finals receiving backlash. Williams received three code violations during the match for coaching, racket abuse, and a game penalty. Remarking about the umpire Carlos Ramos, she stated, “”There are men out here who do a lot worse than me, but because I’m a woman, you are going to take this away from me? That is not right.” Following the match, Williams received comments such as, “Serena Williams needs to grow up,” and, “Serena Williams has a terrible attitude,” and many people dismissed her claims about sexism during the match. Despite this backlash, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) even added, “One could argue that not all rules, especially as it relates to coaching, were applied consistently throughout the tournament.”

In contrast, we see many male athletes show poor sportmanship, yet be excused or even praised. Lebron James, one of the most idolized athletes by the youth, has had an infamous history of walking off the court upset and refusing handshakes after the game does not work out in his favor. John McEnroe has multiple instances of breaking his rackets and pursuing fiery arguments with the umpire. Despite this, many people have excused these male athletes, calling them “a passionate competitor” and “having the mentality of a champion.” With this, we can clearly see how when juxtaposing these similar acts of sportsmanship, men are often drawn in a more positive light, yet women receive less grace by the press, indicating the clear-as-day misogyny and society’s views of women bleeding into sports. 

We see how the saying “67” still applies here, as 7 will always be seen as greater than 6, despite being so close in value. Males in sports are often valued by the media more than women are. Similarly, many times in debate, I hear boys specifically saying, “We shouldn’t be focusing on this specific piece of media that promotes gender imbalance because we are at a time where we can celebrate that women have rights.” However, similarly to feminism in sports, just because women have basic unalienable rights, this does not mean we as a society should stop striving for equality. We must keep marching.