Thirty-four years ago Mariah Burton Nelson, a former Stanford basketball player, wrote a book called Are We Winning Yet? How Women are Changing Sports and Sports are Changing Women. My response to her question was included in a column I wrote for the Oakland Tribune called “A Victory on Ice.” Like Nelson, I explored the ongoing inequities in women’s sports focusing on the stereotypes associated with race and sexuality.
Well, we have certainly come a long way baby, but I’m pretty sure that Nelson and I would agree that we would only have to make minor tweaks to our 1991 narratives in 2025. Women athletes are still losing when it comes to equal pay, endorsements, and in the way some are perceived in the media.
The catfights perpetuated by some outlets and social media platforms are disturbing and distracting. It really is OK if Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese aren’t good friends. Haters will hate, but we should care less that a White woman has become the face of a league that is 85% Black.
We just want to watch them play.
Like many of us who have willingly covered the games women play for more than 40 years, I’d like to believe this current evolution in women’s sports is more than a moment. I’m hoping that it is a sustainable movement that will redefine the perceptions of female athletes. JuJu Watkins, A’ja Wilson, Coco Gauff, Simone Biles, Nelly Korda, Clark, Reese, and all other women in their peer group are not only benefactors of Title IX, but also two other major movements in this country — Civil Rights and the Equal Rights Amendment.
Like all great movements, you win a few battles, but the war rages on. These young women are armed for battle. They are literally standing on the shoulders of all the warriors who came before them, demanding change and reform so that those who come behind them can lace up their sneakers, cleats and spikes and play the games they love.
That’s winning.
They, however, want and deserve more.
More money. More power. More messaging.
They are fighting for more zeros on their paychecks — like the women who came before them. The USA women’s soccer team won its fight. Legendary women’s tennis players Billie Jean King, Venus and Serena Williams won their battles back in the day. Let’s hope the WNBA rewards its players by honoring the message on the T-shirts they wore during the recent All-Star game: “Pay Us What You Owe Us.” And, that NCAA schools do likewise when it comes to student-athletes getting their rightful cut of the name, image and likeness (NIL) deals.
Other women athletes are also asserting their power by wearing their hearts on their T-shirts. This summer, the Angel City Football Club protested the cruel and inhumane treatment of Latino immigrants in Los Angeles by wearing shirts that read: Immigrant City Football Club on the front and Los Angeles is for Everyone/Los Angeles es para Todos on the back. A small gesture, but a loud message.
Words matter. Just ask Senator Raphael Warnock. When Atlanta Dream’s minority team owner and incumbent Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler publicly criticized the Black Lives Matter movement and objected to her team wearing “Say Her Name” T-shirts in memory of Breonna Taylor, the team’s reaction was fast and furious. They created another T-shirt backing Warnock, Loeffler’s Black male opponent. “Vote Warnock” shirts were worn by players throughout the league and male athletes from other pro leagues. Warnock won. Women won.
Actions, however, sometimes speak louder than words. This is why some female athletes may need to lower the volume before they lose everything. To truly evolve, they must stop allowing themselves to be objectified and ridiculed if they really want to win.
Think about it. Have you ever seen LeBron James post a picture of himself in a Speedo on X? Ladies, you don’t have to play that game. You’re already inches away from where you need to be to win it all—respect, admiration and fame. Build your brand so that it builds you up. You matter.
In this current climate, it’s far more important to use your platform to bust the stereotypes. Don’t reinforce them by cursing out bouncers on Instagram because you can’t get into the club. I’m talking to you Stud Budz.
It’s not about the followers and clickbait. It’s about the leaders. Be you, but just be better. That’s how you win.
Miki Turner is an award‑winning journalist, author, and producer who now channels her decades of experience into teaching the next generation of journalists at USC Annenberg, where she is an associate professor of professional practice. She has held roles at ESPN, the NFL Network, MSNBC, AOL, BET, and various newspapers, and she teaches courses in photojournalism, sports commentary, digital storytelling, and sports production. She is a USC Annenberg alumnae.