“Dedicated to Julie, Sarah and all women who courageously endure harassment and refuse to quit.”
Just Not Sports and One Tree Forest Films collaborated on this very powerful video to cast a giant, troubling spotlight on the ugly fact that women in sports get harassed online constantly. Their goal is simple… “to open guys’ eyes – by having them open their mouths.” So they asked several men (actual sports fans, not cast actors) to read real comments made by others about sports reporters Sarah Spain and Julie DiCaro out loud, right to the women’s faces. None of the men got to see the Tweets in advance, and their reactions speak volumes.
Sarah, who is an espnW writer, ESPN Radio Host, SportsCenter Anchor for ESPN 1000, wrote of the experience on her Facebook page, “Watching them struggle to actually say out loud the words others wrote was tough.” She added, “We shouldn’t have to deal with this just to do the job we love.”
In her Facebook share, Julie, a “recovering lawyer” turned update Anchor for 87.7 fm, Cubs blogger, and social media empress for WGN Radio/87.7 The Game, posted, “While I’m sure this video will bring a deluge of more ‘mean’ comments, I really felt it needed to be said.”
“In reading the statements out loud to women journalists, guys are forced to experience, sometimes for the first time, the shocking online harassment happening to women in sports day in, day out,” the #MoreThanMean filmmakers explain. “It serves as proof most sports fans would NEVER say these things to another person – so we shouldn’t type this garbage, either.”