It is no surprise to many that there are several differences between men and women’s sports. Especially, when it comes to how they are portrayed. And unfortunately, portraying men and women in all aspects of life is all very confusing, and unfortunately, sexist.

When women first started playing sports in the public eye during the 1900 Olympics, there were so many speculations as to how exactly women would be playing these sports. Many men expected that they would be too “hormonal” to play, or that they would be too busy taking care of their kids. However, many women have been able to squash that very stereotypical role.

Players like Kerri Walsh Jennings, Serena Williams, and Jennie Finch are just a few players who either had or are still continuing their careers and are all doing it flawlessly. These continue to inspire women every day by just proving how much their beautiful bodies can do.

Although this is some of the positive things that women can bring to the table when it comes to sports, journalists somehow find a way to continue to bring down these beautiful and strong women.

One of the main ways that these women are brought down is simply how they are portrayed in articles, especially by mostly-men-ran sports pages. 

A big comparison for this scenario is in 2018 when Serena Williams was playing in the US Open Women’s final and was forced off the court after an argument with the official. She claims that the official had “stolen a point” from her and that he “was a thief”  because she was not given a warning. This led her to have a conversation on the court with the official that many said came off as “dramatic” when in reality she was fighting for the point that she deserved (abcnews.com).

This game should have been important because Naomi Osaka, the first Japanese woman, was going to win the US Open, but it instead was famous for this outburst of emotion. Famous female tennis star, Billie Jean King, had described this scenario so perfectly by stating that “When a woman is emotional, she’s ‘hysterical’ and she’s penalized for it. When a man does the same, he’s ‘outspoken’ and there are no repercussions” (bustle.com).

This leads perfectly into a scenario that happened this year with the world-renown soccer player, Cristiano Ronaldo. Last month during a champions league game, Ronaldo and his team Juventus were set to play Lyon in the quarterfinals. Although the game ended in a 2-2 tie, (Ronaldo scoring both goals) Juventus was sent packing their bags due to a result from the previous game. The cameraman was able to spot Ronaldo on the ground crying and ultimately, throwing a temper tantrum in front of the entire world.

Many fans took to twitter after this reaction, including @devsbluearmy, who posted the video saying, This sort of reaction to losing after all he has won. Incredible. No wonder he defies science. Unbelievable sportsman” (twitter.com). 

A lot of people who saw this tweet, specifically the female population, were in absolute shock how Ronaldo was seen as being “incredible”. Why was he continuing to be idolized for this type of behavior? Why was he not punished? Why was he not seen as “dramatic”?

Cristiano Ronaldo is the most well-known celebrity in the world as he holds the record for the most Instagram followers, yet he or his fans sees nothing wrong with this childish behavior. Junior, Natalie Jamison (11), even adds that “it is sad to see men act like this and get their way, if a female soccer player were to ever do that, they would probably be fined.”

This problem is something that we see way too often and there needs to be awareness brought to it. This situation is only hurting young girls as they will be too afraid to ever show emotion because they may be made fun of or teased. Please remember that when emotion is shown anywhere that includes men or women, it is not something to poke fun of