Discrimination in Football

On the 27th of December 2013 the New Orleans Saints played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Mercedes Benz Superdome. In front of thousands of screaming fans, the Saints claimed victory over the Buccaneers, beating them by twenty-five points. The game was played on the Saint’s field, which gives them the upper hand. But the commenters, who praised almost every play they made, favoured the Saints ever so slightly. The televised event also discriminates with their adverts. Although football has male and female fans alike, the ads discriminate against the women, only airing adverts aimed at men. The sexist nature of the adverts is an example of the male dominated football community.

The commentators were clearly pulling for the Saints, which is to be expected because it was a home game for them. Majority of the attendees of the game were Saints fans, so there was a lot of positive energy directed at their success and negative energy for the Buccaneers. That had to have an effect on the commentators; since they are watching the game live and can feel the anticipation in the stadium. The personal views of the announcers could also come out during their commentary. Someone who is passionate enough about football will always have a preferred team out of any two that are playing. The Saints had fascinating games in previous seasons; the commentary definitely reflects their legacy.

The commercials were mainly directed at men. Every single advert glorified masculinity, except one, where a man’s “sensitivity” being referenced as a reason his partner chose to have a relationship with him. This advert depicts a woman at a car dealership, describing her dream car as a “perfect.” Seconds later an attractive man comes to the desk holding a pup...

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... be an advert for that product because of the large number of people watching it.

It is important for a company to air adverts that cater to the demographic of the viewers, but these commercials were clearly sexist. Most never even mentioned a woman, much less acknowledge that women watch football games as well. In the airline commercial advertising Internet, there was not a single woman on the plane, much less one that needed to use the Internet or wanted to watch the game. The SUV advert used the woman as a ploy to grab a man’s attention, her outfit was revealing and she was driving like she was in an action film. Providing advertisements that cater to women’s interests as well will not result in as many sales and the companies goal is to get more sales, but they do not have to completely alienate women for a dollar. Women like using the Internet on planes too.