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For many of the women in sports broadcasting, sex appeal has become an obstacle in their mission to gain respect for their skills.
By SHARON GINN
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 9, 2001
Melissa Stark replaced a woman 20 years her senior, Jill Arrington went sleeveless and Playboy's online readers got a chance to vote for the "Hottest Sports Babe" in hopes of someday seeing her naked.
Oh yes, and ESPN's Pam Ward became the first woman to do play-by-play in a national college football broadcast.
Guess which event got the least attention?
So it went this fall in the world of women sportscasters, where good looks have been the subject of discussion since Stark replaced veteran Lesley Visser in June during Don Ohlmeyer's overhaul of ABC's Monday Night Football.
Meanwhile, Ward's turns in the booth, the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, passed with barely a mention, even though the so-called glass ceiling for female sportscasters has been a hot topic.
Lately, though, there has been more talk about sportscasters as sex objects, and not for the first time. Remember Miss America-turned-analyst Phyllis George, hired by CBS in the 1970s for The NFL Today?
But many in the business figured that beauty no longer was a job requirement. Some are no longer so sure.
"There have been so many great strides made by women in this field in terms of credibility, in terms of the numbers growing," said ESPN's Michelle Tafoya, who moved from CBS a year ago.
"The trend that I've noticed lately, and it seems to be talked about a great deal, is now that women have established themselves, is it becoming the fashion and beauty show?"
Few will deny that on television, good looks are important. But though veterans such as Tafoya and numerous TV critics have questioned the networks' priorities, wondering whether some women are hired to attract the young male demographic, Stark said a female broadcaster can't get by just on her looks.
"It used to be ... you could just be the "talking head," Stark said. "That's not the case anymore. Any attractive woman is going to be challenged, and the only way you can overcome it is by bringing something else to the table."
Stark, 27 and an ESPN reporter for four years, earned applause, even some raves, once she started the MNF job. But until then, she responded to the extra attention by focusing on the opportunity.
"I really tried not to listen to all of that," Stark said. "(Visser) was great about it. She and I exchanged messages. ... I figured if I went out there and worked hard, there wouldn't be anything for people to criticize."
That's what Arrington figured. A former tennis player at Miami who is in her first year as a CBS sideline reporter for colleges and the NFL, she said she couldn't believe the reaction when she wore a tank top in 90-degree heat at the Miami-Virginia Tech game in September. (The outfit prompted a collective groan from critics and cheers from at least one Atlanta sports bar, where a journalist reported that whenever she appeared, the crowd would chant her name.)
"I think it's pretty much ridiculous, because my focus isn't on what I'm wearing," Arrington said. "People are going to say what they want, but I try to present myself the best I can. ... I try to focus on my job."
Stark and Arrington are among the 10 women on Playboy's list of "Hottest Sports Babes," where the winner apparently will get an invitation to pose for the magazine. None of the women said they would do it, but several had a sense of humor about it, including NBC's very-pregnant Hannah Storm.
Playboy's list includes Jillian Barberie, the unabashedly flirtatious Fox NFL Sunday weather reporter whose duties include bantering with Terry Bradshaw and company. She's not a sports journalist and isn't billed by Fox as one, but Playboy apparently considered her a member of the "sports babe" category and lumped her right in.
Fox Sports president Ed Goren said Barberie has her own role, and anyone, man or woman, working as a sideline reporter has to be credible.
"There is a sense now that all it takes is good looks," Goren said. "Phyllis George was a former Miss America, so how much has it really changed? I think (women's) role may have changed a bit. ... But I get the sense that a lot of female journalists today look at Phyllis George and look at her as a token. ... I don't think Phyllis gets the credit she deserves."
Things have changed dramatically in at least one respect: Unlike George or even Ch. 8's Gayle Sierens, who in 1987 became the first (and still only) woman to do play-by-play in an NFL game, Ward received almost no publicity when she called the Toledo-Bowling Green game on Nov.22.
That's mostly because ESPN didn't promote the event. But Ward knew it would be a big deal to many.
"It is a constant fight for women to be credible in this business," Ward told the Roanoke Times and World News. "I'm happy to have the chance to be one of those women who are vanguards."
She since has called two other games, including the Motor City Bowl (Marshall vs. Cincinnati).
"We felt strongly that she would do a good job, and she did," said Steve Anderson, ESPN's executive vice president of production and technical operations. "Pam has worked here for a number of years and proved herself in other areas. It was a logical next step for her."
But is it a logical next step for a woman to take a seat in an NFL booth, either as an analyst or play-by-play announcer? Ward is one who would jump at the chance, but many sideline reporters say they aren't interested.
Goren pointed out that statistically, it's tougher to become an NFL play caller than an NFL head coach.
"These jobs are gems," Goren said. "Count 'em up. At the most, we have seven play-by-play, there are seven at CBS, one at ABC, one at ESPN. That's 16 positions. ... It's the same thing with analysts. (Fox analyst) Matt Millen goes to the Detroit Lions (a reported offer last week to become team president), and my phone is ringing off the hook.
"These are very special people in very special jobs and I think a lot of people feel like, "Hey, I can do it,' and even among those doing it there are very few who do it well. It's a very demanding position and one that is very difficult to be distinctive at. That has nothing to do with male, female or zebras."
Man or woman, a successful play-by-play announcer must have a certain "voice quality," Goren said, citing Ann Meyers, who did NCAA men's basketball tournament games when Goren was a senior producer at CBS in the early 1990s, as a good example.
Sierens believes sooner or later, a woman is going to enter the NFL booth and win over the audience.
"One of the things people always say to me is, will people ever accept a woman's voice, a woman's perspective doing play-by-play?" Sierens said. "Those were the exact same things people were saying about women doing news 30 years ago. Times have changed. ... All of us change. It's not just the industry."
Stark doesn't see herself in that role, either, but said someone is bound to come along.
"Heck, if Hillary Clinton's going to be our president in 2004," Stark said with a chuckle, " ... how far off are we from having a woman in the booth?"
- Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report.