Haterade: in which I share my favorite rejections from women's publications

also: sports-related reading for the week!

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Before we get to this week’s rant, some sports astrology for you:

via X

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women's media is finally embracing sports coverage

When Angel Reese declared for the WNBA Draft with an exclusive Vogue photoshoot, it was a clear turning point for women’s sports coverage. Players and journalists alike commended the move, applauding Reese for recognizing the power and platform she has in this moment and leveraging her brand in a way we haven’t really seen happen before. “An athlete who is also a celebrity can add value to a team by attracting attention from an audience not interested in sports,” Vanessa Friedman wrote at the New York Times. “For Ms. Reese, who is looking to be an early draft pick, underscoring her potential in that arena is not just about emulating an idol, but also making a strategic move.”

Reese said she was inspired by Serena Williams, who announced her retirement in the magazine. Even still, aside from one-offs like Williams or Simone Biles, athletes have been the exception rather than the rule when it comes to being featured in the pages of Vogue—or any women’s publications, for that matter. There’s no doubt that the stratospheric viewership increases that women’s sports are seeing across the board—proven numbers that show women care about sports—are contributing to the increase in coverage in women’s media. Just this week, Vogue also ran a history of women’s running uniforms. The Cut recently launched a sports vertical, as well.

thecut

A post shared by @thecut

It’s the kind of content I’ve spent the last decade trying to convince women’s publications there was an audience for, only to be told over and over again that their readers just didn’t care about sports. So while I’m excited about the expanding exposure for women’s sports and the athletes that play them, I can’t help but feel a little salty and frustrated. To celebrate, I’ve collected some of my favorite rejections over the years from editors at women’s publications:

“Thanks for this! I don’t think it’s quite the right fit for [OUTLET], though. We’ve found that sports stories are a hard sell for our audience.” [Ed. note: this publication now has a dedicated section for women’s sports.]

“This is fascinating but it is a little too insider-y for us. We are definitely going to find the right sports story one of these days, just needs to have a little broader appeal for our audience. Keep pitching!” [Ed. note: we never found the right sports story, despite me continuing to pitch.]

“Thanks for sending this pitch our way. I think it’s a little too narrow for our audience, so we’re going to pass.” [Ed. note: pitched as an expose related to “women in a male dominated industry”, involving systemic sexism at a national media outlet towards its women’s sports reporters]

“This is a great pitch. Unfortunately, we already have a profile on [female sports reporter] in the works, and I fear there would be too much overlap here.” [Ed. note: this was pitched as a “woman in the workplace” type story about… a woman working in sports media, in a completely different sport and role as the other profile they’d assigned.]

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Sports-related reading

• The global climbing community is hosting an international climb-a-thon with the goal of collectively reaching 768 km in vertical height—estimated length of the walls separating Israel from Palestine, via

  Sports Politika
  .

• In honor of Boston Marathon weekend Maggie Mertens shares three lies Bobbi Gibb, the first woman to run the race (unofficially), was told about being a woman who ran (also, pre-order Maggie’s book, Better Faster Farther):

maggiejmertens

A post shared by @maggiejmertens

• Katelyn Burns writes about Dawn Staley’s stance in support of trans women in sports

• Black LGBTQ+ Leaders Applaud Dawn Staley for Defending Transgender Athletes

via X

• On Fox News, fifth place swimming finisher Riley Gaines calls three-time national championship coach Dawn Staley "entirely incompetent or a sellout" for saying that trans women should be allowed to play women's sports.

• The NAIA has banned trans women from competing. Chris Mosier has a good breakdown of the move:

thechrismosier

A post shared by @thechrismosier

• Meanwhile, a new study on trans participation in sport supports inclusion rather than banning: “While longitudinal transitioning studies of transgender athletes are urgently needed, these results should caution against precautionary bans and sport eligibility exclusions that are not based on sport-specific (or sport-relevant) research.”