Sports Archives - Ms. Magazine

The Cost of One Olympic Sexual Abuse Survivor’s Fight for Justice

Mandy Meloon—widely recognized as one of the best taekwondo athletes in the U.S.—was told she could compete in the Beijing Olympics only if she took back her allegation that her coach and his brother were sexually and financially abusing her.

On August 8, the last day of the Tokyo Olympics, Meloon and the other taekwondo survivors will fly to Colorado where a class-action lawsuit alleging “intentional, reckless and negligent acts” committed by
the United States Olympic Committee, including USA Taekwondo, “toward their own athletes” might get resolved.

Women Athletes Are Still Being Disrespected—On and off the Field

Susie Petruccelli

“Raised a Warrior: A Memoir of Soccer, Grit, and Leveling the Playing Field” by Susie Petruccelli is a trailblazing account of triumph in the face of sexism, self-doubt and injury. In it, she gives a remarkable global tour of the women’s soccer world, and presents a stirring call-to-action to secure equal pay and conditions.

Inside the Fight for Equal Pay for Women Olympians

Meredith Abdelnour

As athletes prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, women Olympians are still fighting for equal pay.

“What we’ve learned, and what we continue to learn, is that there is no level of status – and there’s no accomplishment or power – that will protect you from the clutches of inequity,” said star soccer player Megan Rapinoe.

Weights Not Burdens: The Status of Women in Sports in Iran

Tara Jamali

For Iranian women in sports, overcoming social stigma is as much a part of the game as any technique to be mastered.

keeping-score-olympics-voting-rights-spelling-bee

Keeping Score: Record Number of LGBTQ Athletes Compete in Tokyo; Police Arrest Congressional Black Caucus Chair; Louisiana Eliminates ‘Pink Tax’

Sophie Dorf-Kamienny

This week: Olympic athletes push for gender equality and inclusivity; Biden condemns state lawmakers’ attack on voting rights; ICE prohibits arrest of pregnant women, and federal judge rules DACA is unlawful; Rep. Joyce Beatty is arrested during demonstration; Zaila Avant-garde is first African American winner of the National Spelling Bee; and more.

Rachel Nichols and ESPN’s Failed Diversity: “I Know Personally From the Female Side of It”

Stephane Dunn

Rachel Nichols’s lack of solidarity with Maria Taylor as two women marginalized at male-centric ESPN and her dismissal of Taylor’s unique experiences as a Black woman suggest how timely that famous refrain attributed to Sojourner Truth remains: “Ain’t I a woman?”

One Drug, Two Worlds: Sha’Carri Richardson’s Suspension Highlights Double Standard for Marijuana

Meredith Abdelnour

The treatment of Richardson is a symptom of a much larger problem— even as the weed industry booms and more and more states legalize the drug, racist anti-drug laws are still impacting Black people at a disproportionate rate.

Sha’Carri Richardson Isn’t Just Breaking Records—She’s Breaking Glass Ceilings

Cimajie Best

While we wait with bated breath as USA Track & Field makes their final decision about Richardson’s 2021 Olympic fate, there is another story based on a double standard that needs to be told here.

Remember there are young women who aren’t in Vogue, The New York Times or People Magazine but still sport long orange hair, voluminous lashes, tattoos and colorful long nails—and they need us rooting for them to win the way we are for Sha’Carri Richardson.

keeping-score-rapinoe-keystone-pipeline-insurrection

Keeping Score: Paycheck Fairness Act Blocked by Senate Republicans; Biden’s Record Number of Women Judges; DOJ Defends Trans Rights

Sophie Dorf-Kamienny

This week in Keeping Score: activists and DOJ defend trans rights; Senate recognizes Juneteenth as federal holiday; New York will offer gender-neutral IDs; Biden judicial nominees include a record number of women; and more.

Black Women Making History: Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation

Maura Reilly

compilation of stories about women’s representation.

This week: the New York City mayoral primary; what makes a candidate “likable”?; increasing the number of women governors; breaking down that 40 percent gender quota in Ireland; Kristen Clarke and Simone Biles make history; and more.

Trending: