It is undeniable that women in sports related careers are looked at very differently from men in the same field. However, so many amazing female athletes, broadcasters, and coaches have risen up to the occasion and have played a major part in shattering the glass ceiling for women in sports! Here are my top nine picks for the most impactful women in sports.
- Sarah Fuller – Vanderbilt University Football Kicker
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On November 28th of 2020, Vanderbilt University Senior, Sarah Fuller made history by becoming the first woman to play in a Power 5 football game. Fuller had just finished her senior season of soccer at the university and was called upon to practice with the football team due to coronavirus quarantine protocols. Previously, she had been the goalkeeper for the Vanderbilt women’s soccer team, and it was later announced that she would become the team’s kicker until further notice. The news shocked the nation but Fuller kept her cool stating, “Honestly, I was just really calm. The (soccer) SEC championship was more stressful, if I’m going to be honest.”
She continues to play with the football team at Vanderbilt University and is a role model for not only female athletes, but women in general all around the world. Fuller has begun working with many nonprofit organizations such as “I Play Like A Girl” which encourages girls to play sports and gives them access to STEM opportunities. Her signature football helmet reads “I Play Like A Girl” on the back to honor this organization and the other females changing the way women in sports are viewed.
- Sarah Thomas – National Football League Referee
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In 2015, Sarah Thomas became the first full time female referee in the National Football League, but her list of accomplishments doesn’t stop there. On February 7th 2021, she also became the first female referee to ref for the Super Bowl. The Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the Tampa Buccaneers for Super Bowl 55, but Thomas was the star of the show. She received insane amounts of praise on social media, including a tweet from First Lady, Jill Biden, that read “I’m cheering you on today, Sarah Thomas!”
Thomas started her refereeing career off in 2009, reffing college football games and now has become a familiar face in the NFL and a role model for girls everywhere.
- Sabrina Ionescu – WNBA Player (New York Liberty)
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On April 17th 2020, it was announced that Sabrina Ionescu had been drafted by the New York Liberty as the first pick of the 2020 WNBA draft. At the young age of just twelve years old, she wrote an essay titled “How My Basketball Dreams Began”, and ever since then she has been able to achieve each and every one of those dreams, including to play college basketball. She continued her academic and athletic career at the University of Oregon, where she broke several records set by both male and female players. Some of her major achievements include becoming the NCAA all-time leader in triple-doubles with 26 in her college career, becoming the first player in NCAA history with 2,000 career points, 1,000 career rebounds, 1,000 career assists, and so much more.
In an interview with ESPN, Ionescu states that when she was younger she’d play basketball with her brother Eddy and recalls a time he stated that his left handed shot was better than hers; so she proceeded to only play with her left hand for the remainder of the game and for the weeks to follow. Ionescu consistently demonstrates to young women that if you have something you set your mind to, it’s always possible with passion and motivation.
- Jennifer King – Washington Football Team Assistant Coach
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Jennifer King made headlines in February 2021 when the Washington Football Team announced that she would become the team’s assistant running backs coach for the 2021-2022 season. This made her the first black female assistant coach in the NFL. In her past, King had played football for three women’s teams, coached her son’s teams, and even attended the NFL Women’s Career In Football forum. “I think it’s really important right now to be a good representative, what I didn’t have growing up,” King states. “I didn’t have anyone that looked anything like me working.” Not only does King serve as a role model for women all around the world, but also for black women specifically. She states that she tries to avoid looking at any social media apps to avoid unwanted criticism, but still continues to be a voice for black women in sports to this day.
- Doris Burke – NBA Analyst & Reporter
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In 2017, longtime basketball analyst and reporter Doris Burke became the first woman to be assigned a full season role with the NBA. Previously she had worked as a women’s basketball analyst for Providence College, men’s and women’s Big East games, and eventually signed a contract with ESPN in 1991. Burke has been honored for her amazing accomplishments in several ways, including receiving many awards throughout her time in broadcasting.
Additionally, in 2019 the United States women’s soccer team was given the option to change their jersey name to a woman they admire. Tobin Heath chose to pay tribute to Burke by putting her last name on the jersey. “My role models growing up had always been male footballers or just men,” Heath states. “I just feel the respect that (Burke) has been able to earn through the process, not only from the people in her field but also from the guys on the court who know the game in and out. So, to have them respect her so much is just the greatest honor. It’s like them saying ‘you’re one of us,’ and she’s totally earned that.” With a long list of awards and achievements, and many more to come, this list truly wouldn’t be complete without Doris Burke.
- Serena Williams – Professional Tennis Player
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Serena Williams is another female athlete that this list would not be complete without. She began her professional tennis career in 1995 and shortly after began receiving attention from the media due to her never before seen level of athleticism. In 1999, she won her first US Open, winning a grand slam singles title and ever since then she has been unstoppable. Fast forward to 2017 when she would be playing to win her 23rd grand slam singles title. After winning this game, Williams revealed that while playing the game she had been 20 weeks pregnant, but she didn’t let that stop her from winning her record breaking title. This is one of the many reasons she was named the decades top female athlete at the end of 2019.
Williams has dealt with a fair share of criticism from the public in her time of being an athlete, but has always been able to come back from it. In 2018, Australian magazine, The Herald Sun, published a vulgar cartoon regarding Williams performance in the 2018 US Open Finals, which led to conversations about double standards women face compared to men in sports. Ever since then, she has continuously spoken up on issues women face in the world of sports. “The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another,” Williams states. “We should raise each other up. Make sure you’re very courageous: be strong, be extremely kind, and above all be humble.”
- Megan Rapinoe – US Women’s Soccer Co-Captain
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Ever since the 2019 World Cup finals, Megan Rapinoe has become widely known for starting the equal pay movement in women’s soccer. After winning the 2019 World Cup final, fans from the United States broke out into chants of “Equal Pay” as the team celebrated this amazing victory, that they would likely not receive much financial gain from. Although the women’s soccer team has been significantly more successful than the men’s team, the women still get paid much less than their male counterparts just based on their gender. Rapinoe continues to speak out against racism, homophobia, and sexism in the sport of soccer and consistently speaks out about the gender pay gap in sports. The soccer star tells female fans: “Don’t settle for anything less, go for equal, go for more, don’t accept any of these sort of antiquated and BS answers.”
- Kathrine Switzer – First Woman To Run The Boston Marathon
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The Boston Marathon has always been one of the biggest marathons a runner could ever compete in, but not just anybody had the guts to compete in the 26.2 mile race. Although the first annual Boston Marathon occurred in 1897, no woman had run it until Katherine Switzer came along in 1967. On April 19th of 1967, Katherine Switzer stood amongst a group of thousands of men, waiting to hear the loud “Bang” that signifies the start of the race. She was determined to become the first woman to officially run the course, but had to face many obstacles to get to the finish line. While running the course, marathon goers snapped photos of Switzer being shoved, pushed, and attacked by male runners, which made news in The Boston Globe that night.
Since finishing the 1967 marathon, Switzer has continued to speak out about women in marathons and even wrote her own book titled “Marathon Woman”. In it, she writes “In 1967, few would have believed that marathon running would someday attract millions of women, become a glamour event in the Olympics and on the streets of major cities, help transform views of women’s physical ability and help redefine their economic roles in traditional cultures.” In 2017, Switzer decided to run the Boston Marathon yet again to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her first time running. Since then, her racing number has been retired by the Boston Athletic Association to honor all she did for women in the sport of running.
- Erin Andrews – Fox Sports Sideline Reporter
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In 2004, a young Erin Andrews became a reporter for ESPN’s National Hockey Night and had the opportunity to report in many different championship games. Additionally, she began working on both ESPN and ABC’s coverage of College Football, but eventually left this job to go work with Fox Sports, where she became one of the most widely known sideline reporters for the NFL. However, although Andrews’ name became a more common discussion in the world of sports, many of these conversations were not just about her sports broadcasting. She is often sexualized by men on social media, receiving the nickname “Sideline Barbie” and is often not only criticized on the quality of her reporting, but the amount of skin she shows while broadcasting.
In 2016, a video filmed in 2008 taken by a stalker of her nude in a hotel was released and Andrews faced an intense amount of backlash and feared her career would be ruined. Andrews was very vocal throughout the 2016 trial about the disgusting sexist culture surrounding the world of sports and continues to be an advocate for women in sports broadcasting to this day. “Women want to know what’s going on (in sports), whether it’s the guys in the huddle the guys on the couch,” Andrews states. “One thing that’s cool that I’ve seen as I’ve grown older is that women now think it is cool to enjoy sports and to sit there and talk the talk and know what’s going on.”
As a woman wanting to go into sports broadcasting, it is so important to recognize all of the female athletes, coaches, reporters, and anybody else who has made a difference in the world of professional sports. These nine women all have inspiring and impactful stories that have stuck with me, however there are hundreds more women who continue to fight for equality in sports, and I have no doubt there will be plenty more in the future.