Podcast Episode 99: Author Julie DiCaro on Serena Williams, Women in Sports, and the Limits of Sports Media

This week’s guest is Julie DiCaro, author of the new book Sidelined: Sports, Culture, and Being a Woman in America, which comes out on Tuesday. I learned a lot from reading her book, and recommend it to anyone who is interested in the problems with sports media and the struggles that women face in every aspect of the sports industry.

We talk about the forces that keep sports media from holding stars, teams, and leagues accountable, and the ongoing struggle to keep athletes from brushing domestic violence and sexual assault accusations under the rug. Julie explains how Serena Williams is held to a higher standard than male and white female stars, and how she’d like to see Serena treated differently by fans, media, and fellow players.

We explore how women’s sports should be marketed and reported on, and what that might mean for the WTA as it considers a merger with the ATP. Finally, Julie tells me how it is difficult as a woman in the media to remain enthusiastic about the sports she covers, and why she thinks its important to keep doing what she does.

Thanks for listening!

(Note: this week’s episode is about 60 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)

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Music: Everyone Has Gone Home by texasradiofish (c) copyright 2020. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. Ft: spinningmerkaba

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