Walking through the halls on the Friday before Homecoming 2017, amidst the “onesies”, superheroes and hippies, one might have noticed small stickers that said “Pelicans support boys and girls sports”. These stickers were created by the Women’s Empowerment Club and the Social and Political Activism Club to encourage Pelham students and staff to attend boys’ and girls’ events equally. These stickers were worn in response to a general imbalance in attendance and excitement at boys’ and girls’ sports games. In recent years, the mistreatment of women in sports, specifically in salary and coverage, has become an increasingly discussed problem.

When examining this issue one does not need to look further than the US men’s and women’s national soccer teams. The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) has been vastly more successful than the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) in recent years. In the 2014 men’s World Cup, the men’s team was eliminated in the Round of 16, while the women’s team won the 2015 women’s World Cup. In addition, several weeks ago, the USMNT was eliminated from World Cup qualifying, meaning that they did not qualify to attend the 2018 World Cup. Despite this disparity, the men’s team is still paid and watched more. According to CBS, women earned four times less than men for their respective World Cups, despite their greater success, and according to Soccer America Daily, USMNT World Cup games were viewed by 74% more people than USWNT games.

In order to correct this problem as a society, it is important to understand the potential causes of the mistreatment of women in sports. The principle reason may be a perception that male sports are played at a higher level. As reported by CNN, a study of 1800 people showed that 32% of women and 47% of men believed that men are better at sports, while the vast majority of the 1800 believed men and women are equal in math and science. Admittedly, it is scientifically true that men tend to be bigger and more muscular, and this may lead to a physical advantage. However, that does not make men’s sports better or more entertaining. What makes a sport entertaining to watch is the competition itself. In men’s and women’s sports alike, the athletes are very talented. Furthermore, in both men’s and women’s sports the teams are of about equal level. Men’s and women’s games share the same element of close, intense competition and therefore both equally deserve our respect.

Treating men and women equally in sports should be of the utmost importance to us as a society. Treating people equally is a commonly held goal. Moreover, movements like the feminist movement and the Black Lives Matter movement represent the fight for equality. However, it is important for us to have substance behind our words. Sports are extremely relevant to many of our lives. By showing equality in something so close to us, our words are actually making a difference. Whether it’s at local PMHS sports games or watching a game on TV, we can all do our part to treat men’s and women’s sports equally in our everyday lives.