You know that siren that many of us have in our head that warns us when we’re about to say something we regret? Yeah, Mark Haines of CNBC doesn’t have one of those. So the botched call at the end of Armando Galarraga’s perfect game somehow led to this:
Mark Haines Is A Sexist; ESPN, Maybe Not So Much
“See, this is why women aren’t in charge of sports.” Yeah, buddy, that’s the reason. Not years of institutional sexism.
But all was not lost. Two male guests decided to throw Mr. Haines a rope the next day. He promptly took the rope and hanged himself with it.
It should be noted here that Erin Burnett is a former lacrosse and field hockey player, so the idea that she could take Mr. Haines, whose most strenuous activities during his life seem to have been turning from one camera to another, is actually a pretty good bet. (HT: FanHouse)
Then again, some studies suggest that Haines might be comfortable helping choose the lineup for SportsCenter. Or maybe it’s just that the list of people outraged by Haines’ comments outnumber the list of people watching women’s sports, as columnist Sally Jenkins hints.
The issue is not just that men aren’t watching women’s sports, but that huge numbers of women aren’t watching either. Personally, a pack of mules couldn’t drag me to an LPGA telecast.
And in fairness to KABC, the pool prodigy next door is always going to get more coverage than the college basketball team across the continent. Alas, even Jenkins falls into idealism when it comes to the job of highlight-show producers.
Their only obligation is to seek to expand the sports audience, not contract it by deprivation.
Actually, their only obligation is to maximize ratings and increase ESPN’s profitability. Solve the problem you identified in the first place -- not enough people watching women’s sports -- and maybe a Women’s College World Series highlight can save us from the 97th installment of “Brett Favre: A Legend’s Agony.”
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