Alarming trend seen

I have subscribed to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for over 10 years. The first section I turn to each morning is the Sports section. As an avid, female, sports-enthused reader, I have noticed an alarming and outdated trend in several sports stories and feel the need to express my concerns in hopes that it will be corrected in the future.

The issue I have is male dominance of articles where both female and male athletes are participants. There have been three stories this past year that have caused my concern. The first two stories are running-related—the Little Rock Marathon and the Firecracker Fast 5K. In both of these articles, the main focus was the male finishers and their accomplishments when, in both races, there were more female than male entrants. What was even more ironic was that the Firecracker article talked about how there were more female participants in this year’s race and went on to add that there has been an increase in female runners on a national level.

The third article of issue was this past Sunday’s segment on the All-Academic teams. Out of the 11 athletes, only four were female. I find it hard to believe that out of all the athletes submitted, only four female athletes met the stated criteria. I am aware that it is dependent on coaches submitting players, so I understand I could be mistaken.

As a past female athlete, I was aware of the difficulties of having to break the gender barrier. I am also the mother of a young female athlete and had truly hoped that, 20 years later, my daughter would not have these differences pointed out to her in such a direct manner. When reporting on future sporting events, please ensure you are giving equal weight and importance to all participants, regardless of gender. AMY PORTER

Conway