by Joanne C. Gerstner

The first time I realized my gender would play a role in my job as a sports journalist happened early. I noticed that my high school, Our Lady Star of the Sea in Grosse Pointe Woods, was not getting the same amount of coverage in the local paper as the high schools’ boys sports. We were an all-girl Catholic school, excelling in many sports, and I wanted to know why we were not being covered. (And yes, I was an athlete and wanted to know why I wasn’t being covered – ha!)

I went to the Grosse Pointe News, talked to some of the journalists there, and received my first assignment to write about Star’s tennis team. I was pretty proud of myself, getting a real writing gig at 15. I did the article and it was published. I was talking to one of my teachers about my first clip, and they were very supportive…and delivered a warning: you do know women don’t become sports writers.

I was stunned, because that was my dream job since childhood. I had memorized the names of the women who wrote sports for the Detroit News and Free Press: Johnette Howard. Michelle Kaufman. Cyndy Lambert. Bev Eckman. I asked why, confused by the warning.

Because you are going to be harassed.

I obviously ignored the warning, as I have now spent nearly three decades being a professional sports journalist!  But the advice was prophetic: I have been frequently harassed doing my job as a woman, and many of my colleagues continue to be harassed by teams, the public, and fellow journalists. The harassment comes in many forms: from being stopped an extra time to check my credential (hanging around my neck in plain view) after all the guys ahead of and behind me get waived in at an arena; answering the phone at work and having a male caller not want to speak to me because he needs a “real sportswriter”; not getting an assignment because it was “too important” to give to a woman; to the slur-laden emails and social media stemming from me not knowing my place (obviously, the kitchen). And yes, we all have stories about the people in prison writing for our photos, the men accusing us of being groupies for the athletes, the sports talk show hosts critiquing how we look, or at worst, sexual violence threats and doxxing.

The recent brave revelations by Rhiannon Walker of The Athletic and other women, thanks to a blockbuster Washington Post investigation of the awful behavior of the NFL team in Washington, has brought women working in sports back into discussion. Fifteen women came forward with stories of what they endured to do their jobs, knowing they could lose their positions if they spoke up.

Thankfully, unlike the past, the world is listening, believing and horrified when these stories are now told. No more “boys will be boys”, or “what did you expect” tripe thrown back at the women who are suffering. Many of us have stood up as allies, citing our own experiences.

That is why we need each other, as women, as journalists, as competitors, as colleagues, more than ever. Strong organizations like AWC and the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM) are there when you need the strength to push through all this. They can be your cheerleaders, your vent-and-get-it out safe place. I have served as the President and Chair of the Board for AWSM, and I know the power of advocacy and women (and some men, too!) banding together. I have stood up to the NFL and other entities on behalf of our AWSM members to demand respectful treatment.

There is a role for all of us in this fight for equality, even if you are not a sports fan. You can still stand in solidarity with us as fellow communicators. We are women, professional journalists and communicators, wanting to do our jobs with respect, excellence and without fear, harassment and oppression. Support women in the Detroit sports media and PR by reading, watching, listening to their work. And if you have the ability to influence, tell and show organizations there will be sponsorship/advertising/ticket sales ramifications for their mistreatment of women.

Harassment should not be an accepted hazard of being a woman in sports.  Stand with us and be counted as an ally.

Joanne C. Gerstner is the Sports Journalist in Residence at the Michigan State University School of Journalism, and the owner of Gerstner Media LLC. She is a commissioner on the State of Michigan’s Women in Sports Task Force.