Every so often, someone says something sexist about women and sports and has to apologize to quell a backlash. The resolution is rarely pleasant, but in the case of the latest offense, we get Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers reviving their Saturday Night Live “Really!?!” segment to heap on some shame.
Sports Illustrated’s NFL writer Andy Benoit is under fire for saying that “women’s sports in general [are] not worth watching” after previously saying that the Women’s World Cup isn’t worth watching. The Women’s World Cup faces so many hurdles already—what with a lack of coverage, playing on artificial turf, and being shunted onto Fox Sports 1—and Poehler and Meyers aren’t putting up with this latest affront.
The two friends can’t understand why Benoit would rather watch golf or the NFL draft or six hours of Kentucky Derby hat coverage instead of something as high-energy as the Women’s World Cup, Serena Williams playing tennis, or the WNBA. The U.S. made it to the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup; the least we can do is show our support and watch them play China on Friday night.
For what it’s worth, Benoit has already deleted his tweet and apologized, thus completing the shame cycle.
My sincere apologies for last night’s senseless tweets. I got carried away responding to playful ribbing ….
— Andy Benoit (@Andy_Benoit) June 23, 2015
…. and, in my stupidity, overcompensated by saying something ignorant and extreme. 100% mistake on my part, for which I’m deeply sorry.
— Andy Benoit (@Andy_Benoit) June 23, 2015
Screengrab via Late Night with Seth Meyers/YouTube
