In times of crisis and in the midst of the many injustices in this world, we often turn to sports for solace and community.
But what do we do when injustice is prevalent within the sports industry? When hardworking women with multiple world titles do not receive equal compensation to their male counterparts? Or when a female reporter’s intelligence, let alone life, gets threatened on a daily basis?
We as sports fans must educate ourselves and fight for the equal treatment of the women that inspire, entertain, and win world championships for us. Their accomplishments in sports are only outweighed by their contributions to society and we must return the favor.
As we continue this list of some of the most highly decorated, insanely talented and prominent activist sportswomen, I hope your appreciation for women and your anger towards inequality skyrocket.
That being said, I’d like to introduce you to No. 2 on this list, one of the best journalists and most outrageous personalities in sports – Mina Kimes.
Mina Kimes
Mina Kimes is a person every sports fan needs to know and every young journalist should look up to. Kimes graduated Summa Cum Laude from Yale University with a Bachelor’s Degree in English — no biggie.
Post graduation, Kimes served as a Bloomberg News Investigative Reporter and Business Writer for Fortune Small Business Magazine where she accumulated multiple awards including National Headliner 1stplace Magazine Feature Writer.
Kimes made the switch from business to sports in 2014 when editors from ESPN found an essay she had written on Tumblr, detailing the bond between herself, her dad, and the Seattle Seahawks. This serves as further proof that sticking to your passion and writing about what you know will lead you to the right place.
Since joining ESPN, Kimes has written multiple high profile features for ESPN magazine and ESports including cover stories for Von Miller, Antonio Brown and Aaron Rodgers, just to name a few.
Sports enthusiasts can watch Kimes battle out the latest in sports on multiple ESPN shows including Around The Horn, Highly Questionable, First Take, and The Dan Lebetard Show with Stugotz. Kimes also aided in the October 2019 launch of ESPN DailyPodcastand has since continued to host the show and raise ESPN Podcast listenership over 40%.
Kimes brings double the entertainment to the table, being both crazy knowledgeable and concise with her arguments, as well as your go to gal for a distraction from life as one of the funniest and quirkiest talents on ESPN.
The best way to explain Kimes is through her NFL focused podcast “The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny”, which stars her dog, Lenny. There is absolutely nothing more ingenious than including your dog in anything; especially a podcast and I give Mina a 12/10 for creativity on that one.
With a collective 13 years as a professional journalist in predominantly male-dominated industries, Kimes is no stranger to the misogynistic downplaying of female reporters’ intelligence, talent, and “experience”. When Kimes isn’t effortlessly taking down internet trolls on Twitter, she shares wisdom with current and aspiring women in sports media.
At the 2018 Association for Women in Sports Media conference, she noted that people only have a problem with female reporters because they are female, simple as that. But, when asked if she felt it was hard being a woman in this field, she retorted, “It’s an advantage because the rarest thing in journalism, in any field of journalism, but especially sports, is originality, and we’re born with it. Because our experiences are unique, our thoughts and perspectives are unique, too. Being a woman in sports is not a challenge. It’s an edge.”
So for all my girls out there, throw on “Mina Kimes Feat. Lenny,” practice your art, be creative, and find your voice because ESPN might just come across your Tumblr post. And for the boys, try to add some females to your list of favorite sports reporters and know that they are your fellow fanatics, not your enemy.
Tomorrow I will continue to school you on some of the greatest women in sports and why its crazy they’re all still fighting for their rightful place in the hierarchy of the sports industry. Next up, a woman who quickly reached the pinnacle of a male dominated sport and crushed every single heteronormative stereotype on the way there. Stay tuned.
Full list:
More from The Woody Paige Sports Network:
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- Betting odds to be the New England Patriots Week 1 QB in 2020
- Dave Portnoy has Roger Goodell between a $250k donation and a hard place
- The time is now for College Football fans to pay it forward
