Gender Barriers In Sports

This sports study will define the increasingly important role of female coaches in all-male basketball leagues. The presence of female coaches in collegiate basketball defines the expanding parameters of coaching opportunities for women in the male-dominant NCAA men’s basketball league. The example of Theresa Phillips, Stephanie Ready, and Jennifer Johnston that defy the patriarchal culture of men’s coaching in all-male leagues at this level of performance. Patriarchal values in all-male basketball leagues are a major barrier for women attempting to become more integrated in this type of sporting culture. More so, the example of Becky Hammon as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings also defines a new opportunity for women at the assistant coach level, yet she …show more content…
In this culture, women have often been barred from coaching in the NCAA because of the sexist standards that they face in male-dominant basketball. This type of gender discrimination is part of the barrier to women at this level of performance: “Women in sport have a tradition of assuring ourselves and others that sport participation is consistent with traditional notions of femininity and that women are not masculinized by sports experiences (O’Reilly & Cahn, 2007, p.220). In this manner, it is important to understand the gender/sex barriers that women must endure in this type of hostile environment. However, women have been increasingly advocating for their right to cross traditional female gender-lines, which suggest some breakthrough opportunities for women in all-male basketball leagues. In the 1990s and 2000s, there are a few important examples of leadership roles taken by women in all-male basketball teams, which should be acknowledged as examples of the talent and skill that some of these women can provide for winning basketball