The seeming lax punishment by Ohio State towards head coach Urban Meyer led to plenty of criticism from the media, and it’s another reason why a prominent sports TV host says she is done with the sport.
Michelle Beadle said on her ESPN show “Get Up” Thursday that the weak punishment for Meyer sent a clear message to her that the school does not care about women. That’s part of a trend she’s seen in both college football and the NFL, which has led her to stop watching both sports.
“There is a reason why this will be the second season where I don’t watch NFL and I don’t spend my Saturdays watching college football either,” Beadle said. “I believe that the sport of football has set itself up to show itself in the bigger picture to not care about women.
“As a woman, I feel like a person who has been marginalized in every single one of these stories that comes out. Every single time pushes me further and further away. I realize that they don’t care, but for me, it’s opened up my weekends.”
She then focused specifically on the Ohio State situation and punishment of Meyer, who was suspended three games without pay.
“I don’t care anymore. I’ve lost the ability to be surprised. You got three games. You could have been fired. They could have gotten away with not having to pay you a single dime. You survived. The entire thing is a disgrace. I’m just numb to it. I’m just ready for NBA to kick off, quite frankly.”
Beadle isn’t alone in her feelings, but not many people will carry out a boycott the way she says she is. All sports need to keep a close eye on these situations, because the last thing they want is people being apathetic towards their sports. Fans are the ones who support the industry and pay for salaries.
