In case you missed it, women’s sports have had a tremendous year. From the meteoric rise of women’s basketball to newfound efforts to recognize women behind the athletes, it seems as though women are finally being recognized for their contribution to athletics.
There’s only one problem: female athletes are being held to a double standard, specifically when it comes to talking trash. This is especially prevalent in women’s college basketball and the WNBA.
In March of 2024, women’s basketball saw a drastic increase in viewership and support. Many fans attribute this to a phenomenon known as the Caitlin Clark effect. Clark, a current point guard for the Indiana Fever, was a senior at the University of Iowa when she blew up. Fans followed her journey to becoming the NCAA women’s all-time leading scorer and watched with excitement as she was selected as the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Before this outpour of support, however, was the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball national championship game. Iowa would go head-to-head with LSU, meaning Clark would be up against forward Angel Reese. In the final moments of the game, LSU held the lead and victory was in their grasp. Reese, approaching Clark, waved her hand in front of her face – known as John Cena’s “You can’t see me” gesture — and pointed to her ring finger, showing Clark where her championship ring would sit. Reese received significant backlash for this, many calling her “classless” online.
Clark, who had made a similar gesture earlier in the game, defended Reese.
“Men have always had trash talk … You should be able to play with that emotion … That’s how every girl should continue to play,” Clark said in an interview with ESPN.
Reese also defended herself, pointing out that her critics’ real issue lies with race.
“I don’t fit the box that y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto. Y’all told me that all year. But when other people do it … y’all don’t say nothing,” Reese said in a press conference after her victory. Reese has also claimed that the public’s reaction to this game fueled her success and gave her an excellent season to follow.
Beyond Clark and Reese, other athletes from the WNBA have spoken up about the different reactions to trash talk. Sabrina Ionescu, a guard for the New York Liberty, addressed the issue in an interview with the Ringer NBA show.
“[Trash talking] is a part of our sport… You see it in the NFL, you see it in the NBA… but for some reason when it gets to women’s sports it’s like people don’t wanna talk about it… I just kind of let the game do the talking,” Ionescu said.
Nike has shown support for female athletes and addressed the double standards they face in their new brand anthem, “So Win.” In their Super Bowl LIX ad, they pointed out the countless standards female athletes are held to.
Nike featured athletes Clark, Ionescu, Jordan Chiles, Sha’Carri Richardson, A’ja Wilson and Sophia Wilson. Nike’s website describes their stance as, “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be the best.”
The message is clear: people will tell female athletes what they can’t do. They cannot succeed, they cannot take up space, and they certainly cannot trash talk.
Women in sports are deciding against this every day. When a female athlete steps on the court, she is not just showing up for herself. She is showing every young girl what is possible and that they can be confident when the time comes.