Don’t allow Jessica Mendoza’s moment to be overshadowed by the ugliness of sexism. Yesterday the 34-year-old, two-time Olympian and former president of the Women’s Sports Foundation, made baseball history when she became the first woman to broadcast a postseason Major League Baseball game. As a part of the ESPN team, Mendoza was on for the Yankees versus Astros American League Wildcard game.
We’re disappointed that during this monumental occasion, sexist backlash began to rear its ugly head. But that’s the Internet for you. Her name immediately became a trending topic on Twitter:
I’m sorry but this #JessicaMendoza is terrible. Terrible. It’s bad enough #espn are rooting for the Astros without this. She’s worthless — James Manouse (@JimManouse) October 7, 2015
If I wanted to sit around for 3 hours and be annoyed by a woman, I would have taken my wife out to dinner. #JessicaMendoza #WildCard @espn — Cool Pope Francis (@CoolPontifex) October 7, 2015
I’ve been trending for all the wrong reasons tonight. I apologize for calling Jessica Mendoza Tits McGee. — Mike Bell (@mikebell929) October 7, 2015
Why is a woman calling a @MLB playoff game? What the fuck is this shit, @espn? #AstrosYankees#jessicamendoza#BoycottVaginaBroadcasters — MR (@mikerotondo86) October 7, 2015
We know that she’s qualified to call the game. In high school she was named Player of the Year by the LA Times. She was an award-winning, record-breaking player during her time at Stanford and assisted in leading the team to their first-ever Women’s College World Series. She played twice for Team USA – first at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and later at 2008 Beijing Games. Time magazine also noted back in August, she also became the first women in the booth for an ESPN MLB broadcast during a game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the St. Louis Cardinals. She clearly has the chops for the gig and others supported the occassion:
#JessicaMendoza has more ball sport cred than any of the sexist meat heads tweeting about her. — David Peck (@david_peck) October 7, 2015
Fanboys freaking that Mendoza — gasp — is actually kinda awesome at this. Make her huge @espn – she deserves it. #JessicaMendoza — Amy Bass (@bassab1) October 7, 2015
Voices against #JessicaMendoza will fall on deaf ESPN ears, drowned out by masses applauding her work. The world adapts, with or w/out them. — Nick Houser (@Nick_Houser) October 7, 2015
Hearing a female voice in the booth for a prime time playoff baseball game is AMAZING #WildCard #jessicamendoza — Maeghan (@MaeghanCoco) October 7, 2015
I am already not missing #curtschilling. #JessicaMendoza for the win — Jack Sinclair (@jacksinclair88) October 7, 2015
As with many firsts, backlash is an annoying side effect. We want to tip our hat to Mendoza and ESPN for making strides and moving a woman into a position that she has earned. Let’s not focus on the hate. It steals the shine from this brilliant moment.
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