Why Women’s Sports Get So Little Attention – NPR

Atlanta Dream guard Angel McCoughtry (35) passes around Washington Mystics forward Ally Malott (11) in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.i

Atlanta Dream guard Angel McCoughtry (35) passes around Washington Mystics forward Ally Malott (11) in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

Chuck Myers/Landov


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Chuck Myers/Landov

Atlanta Dream guard Angel McCoughtry (35) passes around Washington Mystics forward Ally Malott (11) in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

Atlanta Dream guard Angel McCoughtry (35) passes around Washington Mystics forward Ally Malott (11) in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

Chuck Myers/Landov

You may not know that the WNBA finals begin this weekend. It’s probably fair to say that if it were the NBA you would know.

More people pay attention to men’s sports than women’s sports, and one reason for that is inertia. Women are pretty new to big-time sports — and perhaps the media haven’t caught up with them.

Also, there aren’t that many women’s team sports. Lots of people tune in to watch Serena Williams play tennis, and this summer, swimmer Katie Ledecky got a lot of attention — but they play individual sports.

Hear Frank Deford’s take on other reasons why women’s sports don’t have the same kind of following as men’s.