It is 2022. Women belong in sports too. Why is this something that is still so foreign to people? 

Growing up, I was fascinated by sports. I loved watching the Chicago Bears, playing catch with my brother in the yard, and playing Madden and 2K with him. 

I played several sports: basketball, volleyball, cheerleading, track, soccer, and golf in my younger days and they brought me so much joy. 

Of course, as I started seeking out my future career, I wanted it to be in sports. 

When I began college, I felt lost not being a part of a team. I sought out getting involved with media at the community college I was attending. 

It was pretty cool to be on the outside of the game looking in with my new media team. 

This led to me filming games and directing our volleyball and basketball game streams. It helped build up my resume as a freshman and sophomore.  

Once I graduated from there, I began my journey at Eastern where I am now a senior sports media relations major. 

Sports media relations is a journalism concentration, so it was the perfect fit for me. I love media and sports, so combining those for me has been amazing and has led me to several opportunities here at Eastern. 

I have filmed and photographed golf, football, volleyball, and soccer games here and I have learned so much more. 

Working with the yearbook last year and adding the newspaper to my resume this year, it has been nothing short of exciting. I still feel like I am apart of all these games as I cover them now.  

The one thing that has not been so great about all these wonderful experiences is that I have been either the only woman or have had just a few women in these programs. 

We need more women in sports because our perspectives and our thoughts matter too. It can be very intimidating as it is a very male dominated industry.  

When I talk about football or any other sport, sometimes I’ll get the classic phrases: 

 “You don’t know anything, you’re a girl.”  

“Name a player on this team.” 

“Women belong in the kitchen.”  

I could go on. I have just heard them all, but boy are they wrong. I don’t have to prove anything, but growing up loving and playing sports, I think I know a thing or two. 

I really don’t get why the thought of women knowing anything about sports or wanting to make a career in the industry is so inane. It honestly just blows my mind at this point. 

Becoming the assistant sports editor for the DEN has opened my eyes for many reasons. It’s awesome that Autumn, our sports editor, and I have been taking the lead and getting to cover sports for Eastern this year. 

It’s had its ups and downs, but I see a bright future for us both as we get stronger every day in preparation for our future careers. 

The unfortunate situations we have run into as women leading the sports coverage has been interesting but have led us to become better at what we do. 

It has brought us closer together and has made us an amazing team that will work tirelessly to bring you the best coverage of all EIU sports. 

Women reporters deserve to have just as much respect as the guys that report and have careers in sports.  

People in my family and people in my life have even looked at me weird and made me feel like I will fail in the industry when I tell them I am going into sports media. 

For a while, I just told people I was going into strictly journalism and never mentioned the sports because people took it a lot better. 

No one should ever feel like that. As women, we deserve to do what makes us happy. If men can do it, we can do it too. We work just as hard in this. 

I love to see anyone thrive in the sports field because it can be difficult in many ways no matter who you are. 

Don’t let anyone tell you different. You can do whatever you set your mind to in this world. It’s not about what other people think, it’s about believing in yourself and taking your dreams and chasing them.  

Kate Stevens can be reached at 581-2812 or kestevens2@eiu.edu