A couple of weeks ago I ran a Quaz Q&A with Sarah Spain, the excellent and accomplished Chicago-based ESPN personality. Sarah was, as one would expect, fantastic. Her answers were detailed and intelligent and thought-provoking. She was as good a Quaz as I’ve had.
In doing these interviews, I run accompanying photos. Generally, I find them with a quick Google Image search (Admittedly, this isn’t always kosher. If there’s an available photo credit, I give it. And if someone asks for the picture to be taken down, I do so immediately). For Sarah, there were tons upon tons of pictures to choose from. One that I selected was this …
Why did I pick such a photo? Honestly, because it showed Sarah on the job, positioned before an ESPN microphone. What I didn’t realize at the time—and only learned today, via a Tweet, was that the picture was tagged (by someone else, obviously) “whorebag.gif.”
Ugh.
First, I’d like to apologize to Sarah for not noticing such a thing.
Second, I’d like to make a point. Namely, I’m sick of this shit. Really, really sick of this shit. Are male fans all 12? Do we really have to gauge every single woman involved in American sports on her legs, thighs and breast size? Do we really need to refer to women as whores and sluts? Hell, just go to Google, or YouTube, or Twitter, and type in the name of a female sports TV personality alongside terms like “sexy” or “ass” or … whatever. It’s almost all right there in front of you—ratings, rankings, fantasies. Now type in the same terms alongside Chris Berman or Stephen A. Smith. Crickets.
Recently, I served on a panel with a local TV anchor named Dari Alexander. She was absolutely lovely, and I decided she’d be a future Quaz. That night, I looked her up on the web. Some of the YouTube offerings were “Dari Alexander hard left nipple” and ” Dari Alexander cleavage, legs & high heels.” The guy who posted the videos—some clown named JayNorris117—has brought to the world thousands of similar clips on hundreds of other women. The results: 5,642 subscribers, 31,905,512 views.
Again—what the hell is wrong with people? Sarah Spain has parents … a family. Dari Alexander is a mother, a daughter. I just … don’t get it.
I just don’t.
