There are hundreds of athletes who proudly represent the Bellarmine Lions each year. Whether it be football, basketball, track, or one of Bellarmine’s several other athletic programs, there is no shortage of individuals who are looking to compete and succeed at a high level. However, when discussing sports not only at Bellarmine, but on the global stage, discourse about gender equality is becoming increasingly important. As the school continues to develop its athletic programs, understanding how gender equality is impacting our athletes and how it is being addressed is crucial to supporting all those who call Bellarmine’s fields and courts home.
When discussing gender related issues or developments within Bellarmine athletics, it is essential to first examine the trends and traditions of society as a whole. Men’s sports, such as football, receive much more societal attention than their female equivalents. Football, as a sport, is quite the cultural phenomenon. Caroline Meines, head coach of the girls’ volleyball team, says “football is always a really hard one to compare oneself to…They have that consistent kind of Friday night social gathering.”
Additionally, Leoni Pendras, a senior here at Bellarmine, says “everyone is super into football, but not a lot of people come to the soccer games or softball games or things like that.”
Friday nights lights, themed games, and American tradition make football hard to compete with for many sports, men’s and women’s alike.
“[Football] also kind of overshadows all other sports. I’ve never seen anything about wrestling just as much as I’ve seen stuff about girls basketball,” says junior Bryce Hallett.
Cultural trends have led men’s sports to be more popular across the world, and Bellarmine is no exception. However, this begs the question: are there any factors contributing to gender related discrepancies here at Bellarmine, or is the problem within society as a whole?
When referring to facilities, this question seems up for debate amongst the Bellarmine community. Sophomore Georgia Morrow, a member of the varsity fastpitch team, said “Baseball has better equipment than softball. They have all the nice equipment, nice fields, a two story clubhouse, while [softball] has a dugout we have to fix and build and make sure it’s ok with the weather.”
Junior Lyla Hulse, also a member of the fastpitch team, shares similar feelings. “[The baseball team’s] dugouts have walls, they have a much better batting cage. The softball fields look neglected and not nearly as well maintained.” Despite the apparent difference in the utilities and equipment of Bellarmine’s softball and baseball teams, very few other sports were said to have such issues.
Caroline Meines said, ”I’ve always been able to ask for, or kind of mention, if I don’t feel like [the equipment] is equal.” Several students and staff members reported noticing no difference in equipment and facilities, which displays that despite a few outliers, most Bellarmine athletes are given the same amenities.
Equipment, however, is not everything. Attendance and support from the student body are crucial to the morale of a sports team. Kevin Meines, Bellarmine’s athletic director, says “I’m not naive enough to think that students are going to go to girl’s basketball over boys basketball. That’s just not reality, but I don’t think it’s right, I don’t feel like it’s fair.” Given that men’s sports are far more popular in society, it is not a surprise that many Bellarmine students and staff say that they feel attendance is much greater at men’s sporting events.
Junior Alfonzo Amaranto, a talented sports photographer and track and field athlete says “I don’t think [men’s and women’s sports] receive equal support from the student body, mainly because even outside of Bellarmine, men’s sports do kind of get more hype.”
Math and science teacher Bridget Nuno shared similar thoughts. “[It’s] sad to say but I think it’s just tradition… People go to football games just because it’s an event… They’re not even watching the game.”
The trend of men’s sports being more popular exists not only within Bellarmine but around the world. The 2022 men’s World Cup final attracted over 1.5 billion viewers for the final match alone, however, the 2019 women’s World Cup gathered 1.1 billion viewers for the entire tournament. This statistic displays the sheer popularity of men’s sports compared to their female equivalents.
While Bellarmine does appear to have a difference in attendance across male and female athletics, it can largely be attributed to societal trends rather than Bellarmine-specific issues. A few students even stated that, apart from football, they don’t notice a difference in attendance between our men’s and women’s teams, but rather a difference in attendance based on performance. Sachin Suresh, a junior who is a member of Bellarmine’s tennis and track and field teams, said “I think it really depends on the sport.” In reference to Bellarmine’s women’s basketball team Suresh went on to say, “They’re awesome. Those are the games that I go to.” Hulse said, “Women’s basketball gets more attendance…but that’s just because we’re good.” When a Bellarmine sports team is succeeding at a high level, it is clear that students support them regardless of gender.
Taking all of this into account, it is apparent that there are some areas where there are inequities, however, these are not going unnoticed or unchanged. Kevin Meines says “decisions are made considering all athletes of both genders…I know that there are inequities out there, but we’re working to solve those things.”
Just this year, the fastpitch team was able to put up a scoreboard, showing that inequalities are being addressed. Additionally, new opportunities for female athletes such as the addition of flag football are expanding the reach of girl’s sports across the Bellarmine community.
Amaranto said, “I think that at Bellarmine we tend to recognize women’s sports a tiny bit more than the other schools that I know of.” Kevin Meines commented on that matter too, stating that “No one is doing it exponentially better…There are other schools that aren’t as attentive as we are to that balance.”
Bellarmine has made great progress toward gender equality in athletics, however, disparities still remain. In order to progress the athletic programs and ensure that all athletes are given the opportunity to succeed, it is imperative that the lion community makes active efforts to ensure that all athletes are being supported, regardless of their gender. This is crucial to the future of Bellarmine athletics, but given that there are already so many students and staff who are working to support all of Bellarmine’s players, it is clear the future of athletics is bright.
