“Yes, I Do Play Like A Girl”: Sports Media and Gendered Representation of the 2016 USA Olympic Basketball Teams

This study examines sports media and its gendered representation. It analyzes game commentary for both men’s and women’s basketball and determines how gendered language shapes the sport. The method of cluster criticism is utilized to find key terms and their associated clusters, as well as recurring comments and themes. A total of four Olympic level games were examined, two men’s games and two women’s games. The first 20 minutes of each game were watched and notes were recorded for gendered commentary. The comment section for each video was examined to note language clusters that were related to gender within basketball. The results indicated that men’s basketball is respected more by audiences, and the language used within the commentary and comment section reflects a positive tone. As for the women’s games the language was degrading and emphasized the audience’s lack of respect for women in sports. The media coverage analyzed showcases network’s priorities in which sports they choose to display