Students Participate in Discussion about Equality in Sports Reporting

A group of Westminster students and faculty gathered in the Gund Reading Room April 30 to view the ESPN “Nine for IX” documentary “Let Them Wear Towels,” which chronicles the struggle the first female sports journalists faced in gaining access to the locker rooms of professional male athletes in the ’70s and ’80s. Kaitee Daley, a writer/producer at ESPN Social Media and former two-sport collegiate athlete at Bowdoin College, also talked with the students about her career and answered questions.
 

“Nine for IX” is the title of a series of documentary films that aired on ESPN celebrating the 40th anniversary of Title IX. ESPN Films produced the documentaries in conjunction with espnW. “Let Them Wear Towels,” features commentary from some of the first female sportswriters including Lisa Olson, Melissa Ludtke, Claire Smith, Lesley Visser and Jane Gross about the hostility, barriers and harassment they faced in trying to do their jobs with unequal access to athletes. It also covered the landmark court rulings related to gaining that access and highlighted those in the sports world who helped lead change.
 

Following the screening of the film, Daley discussed her background working in the Sports Information Department at Bowdoin and her five years at ESPN, including reporting about the Patriots. “The whole “Nine for IX” series is incredibly important for ESPN,” she said. “Women have come really far, but we still have a lot of ground to cover.” She also talked about the Association for Women in Sports Media and how important having allies can be.
 

In response to a question about how students might think about going into sports writing, she encouraged them to “figure out your skills and what you are passionate about.” She added that her best piece of advice would be: “don’t let fear hold you back.”