Appreciation for Michigan's women's teams
Regrettably, when recently celebrating being named CBS Sports' best athletic program for 2018-19, the Michigan Athletics twitter feed posted a photo mashup of Jordan Poole, Jordan Brewer, and Devin Bush. None of our outstanding Michigan women's teams were represented in the photo, which is inexcusable. Perhaps the graphic was created by CBS Sports, but it ran on the main Michigan Athletics feed.
https://twitter.com/UMichAthletics/status/1149427358849359872
As the story says, none of Michigan's teams won national championships during the year, but the "success across the board helped" Michigan claim the top spot overall. This includes our outstanding women's teams. During the year, we had outstanding finishes in women's gymnastics (fifth), women's volleyball (ninth), and women's lacrosse (ninth), among others. We have some of the best female athletes in the country year-in and year-out and some of the best-ever coaches in Michigan athletics currently on staff in Hutch and Coach Plocki.
Seven of our women's teams won conference titles. Women's basketball, which is weighted third most important in the CBS formula, finished in a tie for 17th nationally.
While so many of the big sports demand public attention, it's also important for us to recognize the other sports, and their athletes and coaches, that contribute to our outstanding athletics community. My sports season isn't complete without getting a chance to see Hutch lead our amazing softball program. One of these years we will go really deep into the women's basketball tournament, and it will be amazing to watch!
Let 'em know how much we all appreciate all of the men's and women's sports at Michigan, no matter how large or small of a spotlight they play under. These men and women make us so proud!
NOTE: After some criticism, the Michigan Athletics feed ran photos of some of our outstanding women's teams. But we can't ever forget the role our women's team play on an annual basis!
Hear hear. *raises glass*
I'd ask if you are kidding me with this but I think I know the answer. How does a twitter feed capture every group so as to satisfy every concern troll? A: it cant.
We’re not talking a small minority group. Women are half the athletes in the department. It isn’t super hard to include 1 woman in a mashup of 3 athletes or do separate mashups for male/female.
CBS Sports is a profit-driven media company. People don't really watch women's sports, outside of women's soccer, so it seems obvious they would highlight the two biggest sports in American in the photo for an article.
Maybe go post this on CBSSportsGoBlog?
As I was responding to Bluezen’s comment “How does a twitter feed capture every group so as to satisfy every concern troll? A: it cant.”, which was posted on mgoblog, it wouldn’t make very much sense to respond on CBSSportsGoBlog.
Wait...outside of the world cup, people actually watch women's soccer?
Yes, "people" do. My daughter is a soccer player, and we watch the NWSL every chance we get. Portland sells out ever home game they play. No one gives the tiniest poop what sports you like, whether it's tiddly winks or whack-a-pole in the basement. Why not have some respect for your fellow humans? How tiny must your ego be to post such trivial st*pid?
The thorns games are a hoot, I just went Sunday. In my opinion, they are more enjoyable than the timbers games. That said, they don't sell out every game and thats with much cheaper tickets
Okay, I was going on what my daughter told me. She was lamenting that there aren't as many people at the Pride games. I just worry about a man who would come on mgoblog, of all places, and say 'Hey, I'm going to take women aka half the human race down today and that'll make me feel better!' I'll admit, I took the bait.
Wow, clearly you do give a shit what sport I watch. You should calm down buddy and probably readjust your panties that are obviously in a bunch. It was a joke that your parenting ego couldn't handle. You are choosing to get offended over something very small which seems to be par for the course in toady's world. That is awesome for your daughter. My daughter plays soccer and softball in school and if she ever reaches the level of athlete as your daughter, you can bet your bunched up panty wearing ass I'll be watching every minute of it that I can. That still doesn't take away from the fact that you are in the vast, vast minority if that is the entertainment you choose to watch. Facts are facts no matter how your ego tries to reconcile with them in your keyboard warrior ways.
Good day.
Dude, relax.
I know there are a lot of people on this blog who were athletes in their younger days, and maybe still are. A fair number played in college, and maybe a few played professionally.
I was the other kind of athlete. At best I was fair, but I sure wasn't the stud player on my team, and no college anywhere wanted me for anything except my tuition payments.
So any athletes wearing Maize & Blue are doing two things that I could only dream of: They're talented enough to compete at their sport at a major-college level, and they're doing it at the University of Michigan.
I can appreciate anybody who can do that.
I second this comment. I hadn’t followed college baseball in the past, but watched several of the playoff and World Series games simply because there was a Michigan team playing. Appreciate that there are perhaps more Deloofs on the women’s swim team than Glasgows on the football team, and they’re every bit as good!
Go Blue!
Chill. To say this is “inexcusable” is a massive dramatic over-statement when considering the person putting together the twitter banner probably spent 5 mins doing so without any ill conceived notions.
The recreationally offended on Twitter is getting ridiculous. I’m guessing people on Twitter are trying to find the person who created the banner to get him fired and make sure he never gets another job again.
"recreationally offended" . Excellent comment.
Speaking of hyperbole, “a massive dramatic overstatement’. You seem just as recreationally offended in your over-reaction as the original poster did.
Yea perhaps I did just a tad
What can I be offended about today. Being a professional victim is a profitable business.
And I’m offended that the general student body wasn’t represented on the banner. Without students UM wouldn’t have athletes.
So is being offended about other people being offended (and I do realize the irony of this post)
I tell my 2 kids - Gen Z and Millennial - that getting offended is truly a growth industry. They don't laugh, maybe they got offended???
They probably just don't think Boomer humor is all that funny.
I am also offended. Would you like to contribute to my Patreon account? It will make me feel much better.
/s
How hard would it have been to put out a photo of Naz Hillmon, our first basketball player to ever earn all-Big Ten first team honors as a freshman?
Or Natalie Wojcik, a national champion on the balance beam as a freshman?
Or Catie DeLoof, who finished off her college swimming career as a six-time All-American and three-time Big Ten champion in 2018-2019.
No, it was likely a combination of simple laziness and abject cultural deference and marginalizing of women's sports that led to their exclusion. We're better than that in 2019, at least I hope.
And you know who's offended? How about some of the coaches and players that compete on those teams.....you know, the ones who contributed to Michigan's outstanding sports year.
You're right, its probably not hard to put any of those folks in the banner, but by not doing so is not a nefarious act as you suggest. I'm sure it was "hey, Twitter banner person, can you whip up a Michigan Twitter banner ASAP as I'm about to post something" "Sure thing boss, give me 5-10 mins". They then just so happen to pick a few Michigan men's sports pictures because that is what's most available and they have rights to use. Simple as that - there was no intention to offend anyone.
And while we are on the topic of people being offended, I learned many years ago that being offended doesn't give you any special rights or priviliges. What offends me may not offend you (and vise versa). So while those coaches you mentioned have every right to be offended, they also have every right to NOT be offended. They can realize that the banner wasn't meant to sexist and offend anyone, and move onto more important things in their day.
No wonder college is so expensive now, like you said this could be a ten minute job but now a days you need a ten person review panel to make sure you haven't done anything that will offend anyone.
Easy there LAguy. I think you’ve spent too much time in SoCal, and you hit the typical buzzwords perfectly.
#IWillBeOffendedToday. I will be
Get out of here with your blatant geographism.
Aside from the Naz Hillmon did the other two women you mentioned contribute to Michigan winning CBS's recognition? Looking at the CBS table summarizing the scoring it looks to me the answer is no. You criticize someone for being lazy about their job but did you even make the effort to Google the CBS posting of the article and review the scoring table?
This is fair. UM fans keep wanting a national championship in football, basketball, baseball, etc. We ought to recognize a Wolverine who actually has one: Natalie Wojcik, 2019 National Champion, Women's Gymnastics, Balance Beam.
Congratulations, Natalie. Go Blue!
I’m a Mira Shane fan, myself. Winner and most amazing rep of the Block M. Her dad is also a stud—wearing the M jacket for her senior day.
If you don’t know her, look her up. Energy and enthusiasm.. all for ‘our’ University. Y’all can bicker about how many people watch women’s sports, or if OP used too strong of language—but we have lots of great athletes of both genders to celebrate. And they represent Michigan.
And yes! “People” watch women’s sports—lots of people do. Doesn’t matter if the masses don’t, those who do enjoy it and girls who see other girls value it, even if the masses of dudes who go on social media don’t.
So, yay! Go Blue! The boys in Blue, and the girls in Blue.
Looking at the CBS website it appears their scoring system sums up five sports, football, men's basketball, women's basketball and two wild cards. I see nothing wrong with showing pictures of three athletes from the sports that contributed the highest points totals rather than virtue signaling by including a woman in the trio.
I agree, but it also wouldn't have been a stretch to have a representative from each of the contributing five teams on the photo. Baseball has to be one of the wild cards - what would be the other team?
I agree an image with all five teams represented would have been a good option as well. But if the graphic designer had a preference for a three image design to call using images from the three highest points provider "inexcusable" sounds pretty absurd to me. The poster list the great accomplishments of several women's teams but it's hardly relevant if they use only two wild cards in the CBS formula.
It shows 154 pts for football, 128 for men's basketball, 90 for wild card 1 which I assume is baseball, 80 for wild card 2, and 50 for women's basketball. Not sure what wild card 2 is, maybe men's gymnastics which the article states finished fourth nationally.
Let's all do what's fair and just for everyone. It's the only right way to do things.
Pay them the same as the men!
Free tattoos for the OSU softball team
While the absence of women in the photo is unsurprising in the current climate of sports interest, the reminder of their contribution is timely.
Nor does it hurt to remember the even wider context of athletes who participate because they enjoy the activity, companionship, and benefits of fitness, even if they never achieve superstar status. And who knows? They may even surprise themselves.
Not advocating a massive photo montage, just some thoughts prompted by comments on the blog.
I’m so tired of being offended...
Is it more tiring to be offended in the first place or to be offended about people being offended?
or or or...is it more tiring of be offended by those who are being offended by those who are being offended?
/boom inception'ed!
I’d actually say that I am more mystified than offended
There is a flip side to this coin. Should the UM department run a twitter feed with pictures from the men's water polo team and not the basketball or baseball team so the message gets lost. What about the love and respect for the non revenue sports?
I am offended as a supporter of tennis that this sport doesn't get enough attention on this blog. Where do I register my complaint and outrage?
It is so interesting to see the preconceptions and biases that everyone (myself included) brings to a discussion like this.
It never would have occurred to me to make the original post. I am also not sure whether I would have even noticed the picture if it had not been pointed out to me. I also wish that LAMichigan had not been so in your face using terms like inexcusable. If LAMichigan hadn’t, we might have had a much nicer conversation about the great sports year both our men’s and women’s teams had.
All that having been said, I also can’t imagine being offended by LAMichigan’s post. Having had it brought to my attention, it does seem like a significant oversight to come up with a title representing the athletic department as a whole and then to use a picture that portrays only male athletes. This photo passed through at least three layers, the original creator of the mashup, the editor who approved it and then whoever at the athletic department forwarded it on the u of m twitter. It is clear that not one of them took a step back and thought, this title isn’t about a particular sport, its about an athletic department that is basically 50/50 male female.
I can imagine that unconscious bias must be frustrating for female athletes, what is more amazing to me is the number of people who are clearly consciously offended by having this unconscious bias pointed out (in an admittedly much less than diplomatic way.
Congrats women wolvs! I'll admit I was expecting WD behind this post :-).
Thanks, LAMichigan, for the update.
We all know the crucial role women's teams play in the strength of the University's athletic department, and the University overall, but a reminder's good once in a while.
Not to mention the non-income teams, men and women. We all know where most eyes and money go, but all the teams represent Michigan and, again, strengthen the University.
Am I supposed to be “outraged” that a graphic didn’t have a female athlete on it?