Award-winning journalist Maya Golden is opening up about her experiences with sexism and racism throughout her career in sports journalism. In a Newsweek article penned by the Emmy-nominated reporter this week, Golden described being known as the "little Black girl" after she became a sports anchor.
She made history as the first female weekend sports anchor and sports reporter at her ABC affiliate station in Tyler, Texas in 2005. Two years later, she became the first female sports director in East Texas history. Despite acknowledgment of her work and skills, she wasn't immune to co-workers, coaches, and even fellow journalists shading her about her capabilities as a Black woman.
"It was fact and not fiction that I had no margin for error as my male colleagues," Golden wrote. "If I gave a wrong score or said the wrong name of a player, even if that was what was provided to me, I was scrutinized and received ten times the comments my male co-anchor did through viewer emails and on forums."
The longtime writer claims she had to drive to sundown towns to cover stories and got comments about her dress and how she read scores. A local sports radio personality described as a "big wig" in Tyler once screamed at Golden for covering the same story as him, according to her.
Golden highlighted one particular story where she reported on a young, female soccer player trying out for a varsity football team. While covering the story, a football coach at the high school complained about why he didn't spotlight the rest of the male players on the team.
He conceded that he’s aware it’s a story but then said, "I don't want this to be a gimmick."
"If my competence on the job did anything, I hope it showed that women know Xs and Os and when we take up space in such a male-dominated field, it's not a gimmick. It's because we belong," she wrote.
The journalist also shared another moment where she was at a grocery store and overheard an elderly white couple say, "There's the little Black girl that does sports on Channel 7."
"I did what Black women often have to do, which is chalk such comments that reduced my accomplished career to being the 'little Black girl' to ignorance," Golden said.
While she would go on to create her own foundation, write for other notable publications, and soon publish a memoir, the accomplished journalist decided to use her story to affirm she and other women belong in sports media.
"If my competence on the job did anything, I hope it showed that women know Xs and Os and when we take up space in such a male-dominated field, it's not a gimmick. It's because we belong," she concluded her piece. "Women belong in sports media, team front offices, and on the fields and courts. Women belong in sports."
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