I’ve loved sports for as long as I can remember. I’ve played basketball, swam competitively, spent weekends watching my brother run at cross-country meets, and have gone to UCLA football games with my family growing up. Sports have always been a constant in my life: playing them, watching them, talking about them. I’ve never really known anything different.
But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed there’s a difference between being a girl who plays sports and being a girl who loves sports. Playing sports was always encouraged. They were something I could dedicate hours to after school, compete in on weekends, and enjoy while growing up. But they were also generally seen as something I’d eventually move on from rather than something I could ever pursue long term.
That same attitude carries over into how women are treated as sports fans.
When two guys talk about football, it’s usually a conversation about their favorite teams, recent games, or some lighthearted trash talk. But when a woman joins that same conversation, suddenly there are questions about naming five players, explaining rules, or proving how closely she follows a team. Sometimes it’s not even a question, it’s a guy explaining a basic rule a girl has known for years without considering that she might already understand it.
There’s a certain toxicity in the way some men approach women in sports spaces. Rather than sharing an interest, conversations become opportunities to prove who knows more, often with the assumption that women know less. Sports don’t need to be dumbed down for women to understand them, and enjoying sports shouldn’t require anyone to prove themselves.
Not everyone knows every player, statistic, or rule, and that’s okay. Being a sports fan shouldn’t be a competition over who deserves to call themselves one.
I think that same skepticism toward women in sports is part of why I never really considered pursuing a career in the industry when I was younger. When you’re constantly having to prove you belong in a community, it’s hard to imagine building a future in it.
That changed when I took an internship in Ireland, working alongside women at a national badminton organization. For the first time, I saw what it looked like for women to be respected and taken seriously as professionals in sports. It opened my eyes to an industry I’d never previously imagined myself being a part of. Now, almost two years into working in professional sports, I’ve had the opportunity to work across three major professional leagues, from the control room at TD Garden to the sidelines of an NFL training camp.
I’ve learned so much, and I still have plenty left to learn. But I’ve also become more aware of how male-dominated the industry is. Sometimes, it’s as simple as walking into a room to set up a camera and realizing I’m the only woman there. But that doesn’t mean I’ve felt unwelcome. I’ve worked alongside some incredible people who have supported me and taught me so much about the industry. Still, being the only woman in a room can feel intimidating, even when everyone around you is welcoming.
It’s easy to focus on being the youngest, the least experienced, or the only woman. But I’ve been trying to remind myself that I made it into that room for a reason. Someone saw my potential, trusted me with an opportunity, and believed I could contribute. Rather than focusing on what makes me different from everyone else, I want to appreciate the opportunity of being there in the first place.
I think that’s something more women deserve to feel comfortable doing. Being the only woman in a room doesn’t mean you have to shrink yourself, stay quiet, or constantly prove why you belong. You can ask questions, make mistakes, contribute your ideas, and take up space just like anyone else. You don’t have to know everything to deserve to be there.
At the same time, finding community with other women in the industry can make a huge difference. Even when there aren’t other women in your immediate workplace or department, there are women in other organizations, teams, and roles who understand what it’s like to be in that position. Building those connections creates opportunities to share experiences, ask for advice, and learn from one another.
Those connections don’t always have to be formal mentorships. Sometimes it’s just having someone to talk to who understands your experiences, shares your interests, or makes you feel a little less alone. Knowing that other women are navigating similar spaces can make it easier to feel at home in your own space. Ultimately, finding your place in a male-dominated industry is about two things: building a community of people who support you, and learning to feel confident in yourself when you’re the only woman in the room.
I know there’s still a long way to go when it comes to making sports a more welcoming space for women, both as fans and as professionals, but I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had, the people I’ve learned from, and the women who have helped make those opportunities possible.
I don’t know exactly where my career in sports will take me, but I know I want to keep learning, growing, and making space for other women along the way.
More than anything, I hope to be the woman I wish I’d seen on the sidelines when I was little.
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