GUEST ESSAY: Reflections - A Woman In Sports, By Allison Waxman
Celebrating International Women's Day with a rising star in the sports journalism world...
Editor’s Note: To mark International Women’s Day 2024, I’m delighted to pass the keys over to Allison Waxman for this Guest Essay. Allison is a rising star in the sports journalism industry. She was recently hired by Major League Baseball to be their Tap Story Producer. She is also an Editor at Metsmerized. Allison is very much at the front of the queue when it comes to the next generation of women in sports, and I’m beyond proud to have worked with her. My eternal thanks go out to Allison for penning this column, and for inspiring so many women to follow their dreams and cover sports professionally. You can check out Allison’s work HERE.
It always started with a look. The, what are you doing here, or you don’t belong here look.
Since I was little, I always played with the boys. It wasn’t even a second thought: baseball, soccer, basketball and ice hockey. I was either the only girl or one of two. It never bothered me, and I never let it bother me. I was too busy striking out the side or seeing who could reach the puck the fastest. However, years later, it bothered me, and rightfully so.
In high school, the disparity between women’s and men’s sports was like night and day. Not just in a sad way but in a comical way. We wore blueberry-colored softball pants (which didn’t even match our school’s colors), while the baseball team received new uniforms almost every season. In volleyball, we wore the old lacrosse uniforms until my senior year, and so forth. There are countless stories.
Debating how I could best help this issue, I turned to a career in the arts to help as most do. I veered away from sports for a minute and pursued degrees in Television Writing, which brought me to Los Angeles. Don’t fret though, my undying and unwavering passion for the New York Mets sadly remains. Sports found their way back into my life. They say to write what you know – and I know about being a woman in sports.
All my scripts became about sports in some shape or form. My thesis in grad school was even a pilot presentation for one of my baseball comedy scripts. Yes, I rented out Long Beach State’s baseball field, and yes, I had the time of my life doing so. Whether the stories were dramatic or comedic, the same thread remained: women trying to make their names in sports – a predominantly man’s world.
Fast forward to a pandemic and writer’s strike, and I had a few moments of what am I doing with my life as many did. As the way the world works these days, I saw a tweet about an open position at Metsmerized from Editor-in-Chief Mike Mayer. I thought, what could be better than writing about my beloved Mets AND getting paid to do so? Finally, I can combine my two passions: baseball and writing. Then came the best part of all: accepting a job at MLB.
As many do, I applied on a whim, not thinking anything of it or that I would get the position. And I didn’t. However, my application landed on the desk for a new position: Tap Story Producer. In this role, which I’ll be starting in mid-March, I’ll handle the content management for the tap stories on the MLB App. I’m beyond excited to join a creative team that loves baseball as much as I do. While writing will always be my passion, I can’t turn my back on baseball, and I don’t know where this position might take me in the future.
While I haven’t started yet, the best part thus far is seeing how many women are already involved at MLB. Some may say it’s a total cliché, but it’s incredibly vital to see women taking active roles in the sports world. Looking back to when I was younger, would those looks I received have had a profound impact on my life all these years later? Would I even have gotten those looks if there were more women in high-profile positions in the sports world?
When the Marlins hired Kim Ng as their GM in 2020, I had a flurry of emotions. Excitement, joy, fear, anxiety. She was the first of her kind, and I just knew she would be heavily scrutinized. However, she completely turned the organization around, making gutsy trades some GMs wouldn’t even dare. As a result, the Marlins earned their first (full season) postseason berth in 2023 after 20 years away. Alyssa Nakken taking over first base coaching duties in 2022 sent shivers down my spine. Rachel Balkovec becoming the first full-time minor league manager for a Major League-affiliated team (the Tampa Tarpons) was a huge win.
As wonderful as these accomplishments are, I don’t want to feel shivers or excitement when these things happen anymore. They should be standard. The good news is that women are gaining more visible roles in sports. The more women employed at higher level positions, the better the impact it will have on college-level sports, high school-level sports and even little league sports leagues.
Would I change anything about my journey? No. I’m just excited to be part of the ride as a woman in sports because women do belong here.