Pervasively Offside

Abstract

Women remain underrepresented in sport media despite increased opportunities in other facets of sport and journalism. Further, women who have held positions in sport media are often perceived as being less credible than men in the field. In an effort to understand why these perceptions exist, the present study examined the influence of gender-role stereotyping and sexism on perceived sportscaster credibility. Using a posttest-only quasi-experimental design, 544 participants watched a video of a basketball debate between a male and female sportscaster, in addition to assessing the credibility of these sportscasters. Participant attitudes toward the sportscaster, gender-role stereotyping, and sexism as well as media consumption intentions were also measured. Results indicated that participants’ endorsement of gender stereotypes and level of sexism had a negative effect on the perceived credibility of the female sportscaster. Credibility was also found to have a significant relationship with attitudes toward the sportscaster, which in turn was related to media consumption intentions.