"Plays like a man" comment receives criticism in the blogosphere

Grand Slams tend to give those of us who follow sports media coverage much to think about. This year’s Roland Garros was no exception.

After losing in the quarterfinals Dominika Cibulkova said that her opponent, Samantha Stosur, “played like a man.”

Cibulkova presumably intended this statement to serve as an explanation as to why she lost, because according to the young Slovakian, “it’s really hard to play against a man.” 

While the post-match interview was not included in the official news release on the Roland Garros website, it did make the headlines of sports media sites in the United States including FoxSports, Yahoo! Sports and Deadspin. The phrase also caught on internationally and appeared in the Australian Courier-Mail and the Croatian 24 Sata, among others.

Cibulkova is not the first person to compare Stosur to a man. In 2010, Serbian tennis player, Jelena Jankovic said that Stosur gave her no chance to win because she played almost like a man. Jankovic added that Stosur’s game was “impressive.” Ai Sugyama made a similar statement. These were supposed to be compliments.

Similarly, Stosur is not the first female tennis player to be called a man by her peers. A few years ago Amelie Mauresmo received the same treatment.

This time, howdver, we encountered some critical commentaries in the online discourse.

Deadspinmildly called Cibulkova’s comment “bad timing.”

Better yet, a couple of bloggers associated with the Women Talk Sports blog network offered an analysis of the sexism and homophobia embedded in that comparison.

The blogger behind After Atlanta explained what the comment tells us about gender performance and sexuality here, while Courtney Szto argued that “playing like a man” should not be considered a compliment for female athletes and here is why.

As long as female athletes are expected to conform to the rules of femininity and as long as the idea that male athletes are superior to female athletes prevails, we are likely to hear that a female athlete "plays like a man." Yet, a critical analysis of this comparison in the online space carries the potential to change the dominant media discourse and, subsequently, perhaps even ideologies of gender.

With this year’s Roland Garros, we seemed to have moved forward in that regard.

-- Dunja Antunovic 

Yearly Release Schedules for Sports Video Games

The 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), an annual conference on the state of affairs for computer and video games, is wrapping up today in Los Angeles. While E3 is mostly known for showcasing major leaps in graphics technology, inventive forms of gameplay, and completely new gaming consoles, it also comes with its fair share of pretty standard announcements. This includes almost every sports game franchise showing up with details and information about its latest upcoming iteration.

For example, at this year’s E3, the folks from EA Sports announced the latest addition to Madden NFL 13: a different physics engine – basically: the computerized system that accounts for player collisions. Former versions of the Madden NFL franchise also, of course, had physics engines, but the engine for Madden NFL 13 is new and improved.

Sports video games are the perfect background and filler for an annual conference like E3 because they also operate on yearly expectations; a new version of Madden NFL and NBA 2K and Tiger Woods PGA Golf and any other successful gaming franchise will appear in stores every year, usually around the same time. The question that the games’ producers don’t want asked is: Should they?

Certainly, there are yearly improvements in video game technologies, and sports video games benefit from these like any other game franchise might. But it’s unlikely that every single year should see an improvement so amazing that it requires a completely new version of the game.

In the past, sports games that are tied to real-life sports (i.e. the NFL or MLB) had a better rationale for a yearly release schedule, since things like rookies, trades, and player improvements could only appear in the game through new physical software. But internet-capable gaming devices have eliminated that need, as rosters are now updated daily – rather than yearly – through downloadable content.

In fact, that was the sort of monumental innovation that deserved an announcement at a major event like E3. But the minor tweaks and adjustments that many sports game franchises make to their physical products from year to year probably don’t need the fanfare – and they may not need completely new product releases either.
--Brett Sherrick

Title IX at 40 Conference Concludes

After three days of engaging discussions and lectures, the Title IX at 40 Conference concluded yesterday. Sponsored by the SHARP Center for Women and Girls at the University of Michigan and the Women’s Sports Foundation, the Conference fostered an interdisciplinary dialogue between scholars, activists, athletes, lawyers, athletic administrators, teachers and students.

Despite the diversity of presenters’ and attendees’ backgrounds, a few themes reappeared during the conference. Perhaps the most prominent was that we have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go in regards to gender equity. 

Another prominent theme was education. Valerie Bonnette, a TitleIX specialist, consistently with other speakers, emphasized the need to “educate, educate, and educate” about Title IX. The call for spreading knowledge about the law derives primarily from the misconceptions, most specifically the myth that Title IX caused/causes cuts in men’s sports. 

Numerous speakers, including Dr.Christine Grant, former women’s athletic director at the University of Iowa, displayed numbers that indicate: participation for men has actually grown. Men’s sports did not get cut because of Title IX, but because of “allocation of resources,” Grant explained. 

Judy Sweet, former NCAA Senior Vice President, confirmed stating that sports get cut “not because of Title IX, but because of institutional priorities.”

The conference addressed a variety of issues related to Title IX including youth sports, injury prevention, employment, men’s experiences, media coverage and diversity. 

Faculty from Penn State contributed to the conference with their research and expertise. Nancy Williams from the Department of Kinesiology gave a talk titled “Sport Involvement, Health Risks, and the Female Athlete Triad.” 

John Cheslock from the Center for the Study of Higher Education addressed financial challenges in athletics. Cheslock said that the “Title IX Blame Game” is based on the assumption that Title IX is the “primary cause of major reductions” in men’s sports. 

Cheslock pointed out the importance of considering other factors which play a role in institutional decisions such as high schools in the area, cost, risks, and international student presence. He also called for a disaggregation by institution type. Cheslock said that commercially successful institutions are “rare species” as most athletic programs are not sustainable. 

The John Curley Center for Sports Journalism was represented by Marie Hardin, Associate Dean of the College of Communications. Hardin shared research conducted by the Curley Center addressing the relationship between media producers, gender and Title IX coverage. 

Hardin explained that the “zero-sum” framing of Title IX is problematic because the legislation is understood as conflict. “When frames trump facts, ideology gains traction,” Hardin said. 

Currently, women make up approximately 10% of sports reporters, sports bloggers and sports information departments. While we need more women in sports departments, increasing the number of women who enter sports journalism is hardly sufficient. 

“Women will go into sports news departments, but they won't be valued until we value women's sports in our society,” Hardin said. 

You can find more information about the conference at the following sites: 

-        - For a list of all speakers, topics and photos click here and visit the conference website.

-        - For a play-by-play, go to the Curley Center’s Twitter feed @CurleyCenter #TitleIXConference

-         - For videos of keynote speakers Laila Ali, Amy Berman, James Delany and Bernice Sandler click here

To find Title IX related information, visit the SHARP Center, the Women’s Sports Foundation, the National Women’s Law Center, and Title IX Blog, among others. 

For updates from the Curley Center, check back to this blog and follow us on Twitter.

--Dunja Antunovic