Women’s Sports May Have More Fans, But Not All Money Is Good Money

Over the past few years, women's sports fandom has skyrocketed. According to Nielsen, the 2024 WNBA Draft audience increased 511 percent and was up 668 percent with female viewers ages 2-17; the National Women's Soccer League had a 17 percent boost in interest between 2023 and 2024; and this year, the global women's sports industry is predicted to break the $1 billion barrier, a 300 percent increase from 2021. These stats are all worth celebrating because with the growth of leagues will come better women's sports merch, better coverage, and more importantly, better salaries for the players. Yet, there has been discourse and division among OG women's sports fans and newbies just tuning in, especially within the WNBA. My initial reaction: there's room for us all. But after witnessing the commentary and behavior from some of these fans, I'm not sure there is - at least not without an attitude adjustment and putting their biases in check. Let's start with the attitude problem. There seems to be a gross misunderstanding about the type of gameplay expected from the players. Too often fans are complaining of roughhousing or hostile gameplay, particularly in the WNBA, when in reality these leagues have always played hard."You're not saying that when you're watching Draymond Green or when LeBron is dunking on somebody. What's the difference here? It simply is just gender," longtime sports reporter Cari Champion told PS in a previous interview. "And unfortunately, when a lot of people talk about this sport - and men especially - they have the wrong filter, they have the wrong lens."One top of that, the lens is often jaded through personal biases and at times, outright racism. At a post-conference interview on Sept. 25 following an Indiana Fever vs. Connecticut Sun game, Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas opened up about the racism and harassment on the rise among fans in real life, but especially on social media. "In my 11-year career, I've never experienced the racial comments . . . I've never been called the things I've been called on social media, and there's no place for it," Thomas said, per ESPN. Thomas also called out the WNBA for needing to do more to protect players and the Indiana Fever organization for needing to check its fans.After the Fever vs. Sun game, attendees went online to complain about the racist undertones of the commentary and behavior. "I had the misfortune of sharing a row with Lady Misogynoir at tonight's #ConnecticutSun game. Photo descriptions: a woman in a blue shirt that says 'BAN NAILS' with long paper mocking acrylic nails that are commonly worn by Black women and notably by Sun player DiJonai Carrington," Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, PhD, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.I had the misfortune of sharing a row with Lady Misogynoir at tonight's #ConnecticutSun gamePhoto descriptions: a woman in a blue shirt that says "BAN NAILS" with long paper mocking acrylic nails that are commonly worn by Black women and notably by Sun player DiJonai Carrington https://t.co/VufQyIOi6Z pic.twitter.com/2yo90eyyf0- Chanda Prescod-Weinstein (@IBJIYONGI) September 26, 2024"Sports teach life skills, and right now the Fever fandom is teaching racism" Dr. Prescod-Weinstein went on to write. Freelance writer Frankie de la Cretaz, who also attended the game, shared her own experience on Black-led media platform Andscape, and spoke to Dr. Prescod-Weinstein following the game. Both said that the environment felt "unsafe." Other WNBA players have spoken up about the racist and unsettling behavior from new fans as well, with Breanna Stewart reiterating the intolerance the players within the league have for it."Our league is is one of the strongest and probably most outspoken leagues of all of professional sports, and we continue to fight for our 144 and with that, there is no tolerance for racism or discrimination," Stewart told PS in a previous interview. The NY Liberty star went on to reiterate just how dedicated the players are to push back against this kind of behavior. ". . . As working women, we're constantly fighting for more, and we're going to use our platform not only to speak up for ourselves, for our teammates, our friends, our families. This is what we do here, so you gotta get with the program."And that's really the gist of it isn't it? New fans need to get with the program or get out. The women's sports world has always felt like a place were the marginalized feel welcome and fierce competition is celebrated. If you're not here to push that agenda forward, then please turn in your newly purchased jersey and tune out. Your money's not worth it.Alexis Jones is the senior health and fitness editor at PS. Her passions and areas of expertise include women's health and fitness, mental health, racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare, and chronic conditions. Prior to joining PS, she was the senior editor at Health magazine. Her other bylines can be found at Women's Health, Prevention, Marie Claire, and more.