Women in sports take the second shift 

Today, there was a trend of addressing women’s burden when working in sports, whether executives, players, or media individuals. Arizona State associate professor Scott Brooks introduced me to the term “second shift,” specifically for female athletes. These women work during the day for a franchise and then go back home to work as mothers and wives. A clear example that I see in the media is Serena Williams. She received a lot of criticism after having her daughter for her challenging return to the game. The media dismissed the burden that pregnancy can have on a woman. Many other female athletes have been in her same place. 

I believe this can be applied to women that work in the other sectors of sports. Los Angeles Times deputy sports editor Iliana Limon Romero spoke to this, and working in sports can have demanding and unique hours. Romero shared that it is important to take breaks when sports are on pause. She added, in that time to do activities that allow you to breathe. As a woman of color, I agree that it can be exhausting to balance work, social injustice in America, and microaggressions in academia. Through the pandemic, I have found that physical activity and cooking are my activities for decompressing.