Sidelined is both a memoir and a reported look at the mistreatment of women in sports media — from fans, coworkers, and athletes. What surprised you while working on it?
I put out a call on Twitter that was like, “Hey, if you’ve been harassed or if you’ve had #MeToo experiences and you work in sports media …” The number of higher-profile women who reached out to me was surprising. A lot of times we look at the women we see on TV or hear on the radio, and we think, “I bet nobody messes with that person — look at her walking in there like a boss.” What I found out is that it doesn’t matter.
The online harassment you’ve faced is not just mean. It’s scary. Why was it important to you to detail it so explicitly?
I don’t know that people necessarily know what we’re talking about when we say “online harassment.” Like, “Your opinion is stupid” — I don’t care about that. You can call me dumb all day long. It’s public record searches to see what they can figure out about where I live or what school district my kids are in. It’s violent, graphic images that will send you to a therapist. There’s been a bunch of studies showing that women and men are harassed in very different ways. Men get, “You suck at your job,” while women get, “I’m gonna kill you and rape your corpse in front of your kids.” And it’s not OK.
You’ve said that on-the-job abuse is amplified in sports media. Why is that?
There are very few women; there are very few people of color. It’s a breeding ground for misogyny and sexism and homophobia and racism. It seems like in other forms of media, people take diversity and equity and inclusion more seriously. Otherwise, you wouldn’t see [sports outlets] that have no women on staff. Sports media should reflect the fan base. And it just doesn’t.
You repeatedly note that NFL fans are 50 percent women. Why is that an important stat?
No matter what sports radio station you’re at, they’ll say, “Our demographic are guys 18 to 54.” But then everyone’s also talking about, “How do we grow our audience?” What about all the women out there who don’t listen to sports talk radio because they don’t feel welcome? It just seems like a huge disconnect to me. I would think that if you look at Chicago, you would want to put a lineup on that reflects, demographically, that fan base. It’s not just a few women who like to hang out with the guys and do fantasy football.
The fact that you gave this vacuous turd a platform to spew her hate is disgusting. I expect better from Chicago magazine
Julie DiCaro is IS a sexist. So, how can she be fighting it.?She constantly stereotypes men and she even stereotypes people on the basis of skin color. SHE IS A BIGOT.
She is part of the problem
It’s disgusting to see an otherwise respectable magazine give a platform to a vile & toxic individual. In October 2020 Julie DiCaro; for no good reason delivered an attack on Adam Schefter The article only reinforced that she could crawl under a rock and remain there. Do your damn homework Chicago Mag – https://deadspin.com/breaking-adam-schefter-is-a-vacuous-turd-who-demonstra-1845361199
What’s crazy is that the premise of her book is that women are shut out of sports media and mistreated. She the pauses and argues that Erika Nardini of BarStool sports was only hired TO RUN THE COMPANY because she is a woman. This is a woman who has lots of success and experience in sports media and instead of embracing her success, DiCaro dismisses it because it doesn’t fit her narrative that she is a victim. Complete and utter hypocrite.
Agreed…if that is in reference to the person writing this comment.
Low talent. Low iq individual.
If Julie wasn’t an overweight woman she would not have a job. She is bad. Very bad. And a horrid boss.
Looks like you’ve justified her need to write her book. BTW..how many sports broadcasts are you on and how many books have you written??? Sit down.
Julie DiCaro…master of mental gymnastics who thinks she’s a gymnast.
Julie DiCaro is probably the most fraudulent human being in sports “media,” if you can even call what she does that. Stop giving her a platform
Question to Don: Why do you care so much? Why are you so invested in trying to discredit her? You don’t like…don’t listen…don’t read. Simple. And yet you take the time and effort to try to gather validation for your opinions. Weird. By all means, prove me wrong from thinking you’re a misogynistic example of why she wrote the book in the first place by listing your credentials and achievements that prove you’re more well equipped to do her job. I’ll wait. TIP: “Because I’m a dude and I like sports”, is not a rebuttal.
It isn’t because Julie DiCaro is a woman, it’s because she’s not good at her job.
Hard hitting questions. Wow. Julie DiCaro is an internet bully who dresses up as a victim. I cannot imagine that even 25% of this book is based in reality.
I imagine you might only be capable of reading 25% of it. She does tend to use big words.