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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

The idea of supporting women’s sports has recently become popular. But for the wrong reasons? Most definitely. 

Oh, you want to support and protect women’s sports? That’s great! Do you donate to organizations that help young girls become involved in sports? Do you buy tickets to women’s games? Do you watch women’s sports on TV? Do you follow female athletes on social media? Can you, at the very least, name like five female athletes? 

Crickets.

Ok. Got it. 

Your new-found “feminism” is not feminism at all. It’s transphobia.

I thought feminism meant supporting ALL women? 

Similar to Black women being left out of the first wave, when we pick and choose who gets to be included, feminism gets practically nowhere. 

Female athletes often don’t feel protected or supported. And it has absolutely nothing to do with Trans athletes. It’s because they are ignored. And their needs are ignored. That is, until those in power need to use them as pawns in a game of chess, with intentions that are far from pure. 

Because guess what? Once Trans athletes are removed from sports (which, unfortunately, is probably where we are headed), the female athletes will be put back on the shelf with none of their real problems resolved. 

And if your goal really is to protect and support women’s sports, there are so freaking many ways you can actually do that.

If we, as a country, want to “support women’s sports,” we can… I don’t know… PAY THEM A REASONABLE WAGE. 

In 2024, Cristiano Ronaldo was the highest-paid athlete, making an estimated $260 million.

Meanwhile, the highest-paid female athlete of 2024 Coco Gauff made an estimated $30.4 million. And the top ten female athletes in the world made way less than Ronaldo COMBINED ($178.5 million). 

We can even do something as small as watching a women’s game that’s on TV. 

This is something that has seen drastic improvement over the past few years, especially at the college level, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a long, long way to go. 

If we, as a country, want to “protect women’s sports,” we can work to prevent the sexual abuse that female athletes face from a young age. 21% of women and 11% of men in sports experience a form of sexual abuseas a child.

Everyone knows the terrible, infamous case of Larry Nassar and multiple US Olympic gymnasts in 2015. But there are so many cases just like this that go unnoticed and are swept under the rug. 

For past, current, and future female athletes, women’s sports NEED to be protected and supported. But let’s actually do it.  

Delaney Chase is the co-campus correspondent for the St. Bonaventure University Her Campus chapter. She works with the other campus correspondent and various board members to communicate with the rest of the Her Campus community as well as edit articles and lead weekly meetings. Delaney is a junior and is currently studying journalism and political science. She also is a writer for TAP into Greater Olean, an online news platform in the St. Bonaventure area, as well as a captain of the St. Bonaventure Women's Club Basketball team and Vice President of SBU for Equality. She enjoys hearing and sharing experiences with those of similar interests and enjoys being involved in different activities across the SBU campus. She finds this a great way to gain connections with those at her university and in nearby areas. She is enjoys the ability to gain experience and further her knowledge of the communications field. Outside of her time in school, Delaney loves listening to Taylor Swift and will take absolutely any opportunity to bring her up in conversation. She can often be found at the campus Starbucks with her friends ordering a pumpkin spice latte or brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso. She enjoys reading classic novels but also loves watching the trashiest reality TV shows.