I want to be very clear when I say that what’s listed below is not strictly for women in sports. If you simply remove the word “sports” from the sentence, the statement can easily apply to you. Women, often times, are pegged as more emotional, vulnerable, more likely to follow direction, and more likely not to stick up for themselves. No more. 10 things women should never apologize for:
1). Having the same job title as a man. If I had a dollar for every person who assumed I wanted to be a sideline reporter when I said I worked in sports, I could buy the royals and make them good again. The days of misogynistic assumptions about women’s careers in sports, the workplace, and previously male dominated industries are officially over.
3). Receiving attention from athletes and players. We are not responsible for the actions of grown man. We are also not asking for unsolicited social media messages and comments on our appearance, either. We also don’t consider our job titles to be sexy. To us, it’s the same as working in finance or being a teacher; something you want to be successful at. So save your presumptuous DM’s for someone else.
4). Being ambitious. 90% of career building is based off of networking. Putting yourself out there is 100% okay. Connecting with people of power is only going to help you learn how to navigate the industry. If they don’t answer, no love lost. If they reject your invitation for a conversation – you never should have connected with them anyway. If they accept, a mentorship or job opportunity can come to fruition. So I say, send that email. Hit that connect button on LinkedIn. Stalk some websites and make shit happen.
5). Standing up for themselves and calling people out. The soft spoken always finish last, it’s an unfortunate truth. In my experience, letting things roll off my back and spending too much time justifying someone’s negative actions has only hurt me in the long run. It’s not even about having a back bone or being tough. It’s about knowing when to speak up and approach things head on. If someone isn’t doing there part, they need to know. If someone is being disrespectful, that needs to be addressed. Your job title is not an excuse to be an ass hole.
6). Knowing more than men. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat in a conversation and listened to a man ramble on about things they don’t even know regarding sports. It takes so much effort to reject how we’ve been taught to behave in situations like these. Look at it this way, you’re helping them out. By correcting their misinformation you’re saving them from embarrassment when later discussing similar topics with other guys. And ladies, if you love and know sports and the men you surround yourself with make you feel like less than, dump him.
7). Being opinionated. Hot takes are in right now. Do you know how much shit I get for publicly discussing my hatred of Tim Tebow and Jessica Mendoza? A lot. People will think what they want but caving for the approval of others is not on the agenda anymore.
8). Thinking they can’t have it all. Giving up other aspects of your life to fulfil another shouldn’t be the norm. There’s a way to make it all work. There’s no way we’re going to be spending 40+ hours a week and not invest in our own things outside of it. Sports often comes with distance. Moving to random locations on the fly to get closer to the goal is a common occurrence. I’ve moved to Arizona from New York City and back and often felt like relationships, friendships and parts of my personal life were jeopardized. At the end of the day, it’s just a job. When you take that away, what are you left with? The people we put time and effort into and our character, not the power behind our job title.
9). Getting involved. I’ve met so many fantastic people by engaging within this community of bad ass women stepping outside of norms and not letting the opinions of the opposite sex effect them. A commodities of a ladies who can get along working together and just being friends. It’s always nice to have people who share very similar interests as you while knowing you can rely on them for things outside the job or sports.
Ladies, the next time you go to apologize for being a fucking human being, or find yourself worrying about coming off bitchy or emotional, stop. You are entitled to do, feel, say, believe whatever you want.
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