Sports are something that brings people together. Several students participate in school sports and many have very successful stories of going pro. Such as Michael Jordan, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jalen Hurts and Alex Rodriguez. Although many female athletes are just as good as their male counterparts. For example, A’ja Wilson, Alexia Putellas, Diana Flores, and Kelsie Whitmore. Many of these co-ed sports tend to overshadow female athletes when it comes to victories, losses, and overcoming challenges. 

ESPN, also known as the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, has several categories for different sports such as the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. The only female sports categories on the website are the WNBA and women’s college basketball. Very rarely, with the other sports categories, do they show female athletes or them as the headline. 

Throughout history, female athletes had to compete twice as hard to get the representation they deserve. In the 1900 Olympic Games, Charlotte Cooper was the first female tennis player to win gold in a co-ed sport. Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner, also known as Flo-Jo, was an African American track and field athlete. Known as one of the fastest women alive, winning several medals. 

Women alone have to compete twice as hard to achieve success in any field, let alone a sport. There have been several incidents in which female athletes have been accused of cheating, chemical enhancements, and abuse of power. These were some of the many female athletes were accused of just because they were seen as less than their male counterparts, or just competing against each other.  

Hopefully, in the future, female athletes will have representation as much as their male counterparts. They are starting to become less and lesser known within the sports industry. Since some companies believe they could get more and more promotion by using well-known male athletes. Just this week, during Victoria’s Fashion Show, Angel Reese and Suni Lee were both athletes and participated as models. Although many fans of Victoria’s Secret didn’t believe they were real “models.” Female athletes have paved the way for younger athletes, so they should be celebrated rather than pushed aside within the sports industry.