I’d like to thank Robert Dietz for his Oct. 24th insights into Andy Rooney’s ridiculous comments made to Boomer Esiason (“Rooney was wrong-y,” pg. 16). As a woman trying to break into the sports journalism field, hearing such comments can be fairly disconcerting. Dietz is right — if someone of such a high profile says things like this on-air, what sorts of things can be in the minds of all sorts of decision-makers and higher-ups who determine who eventually can make it or break it in the field?

The two biggest hurdles for women breaking into sportscasting right now (aside from the general squeeze on the market that’s making it tough for all of us recent grads to nab a decent break-in gig), are 1: the recent trend to put ex-players with little broadcasting experience on-air; and 2: the trend Dietz illuminated: good-looking people on the sideline. Nothing is more discouraging to me about the future of women in sportscasting more than when I’m sitting in the bar and Bonnie Bernstein pops on the screen to inform us that there is no information on a player’s injury and more men cheer for her filling out her pink tank-top rather nicely than to listen to whatever it is she’s trying to tell us about football.

When people think I’m going to have an easier time landing a job because I’m a woman, both appalling comments like Rooney’s and the trend of having more Bonnie Bernstein’s and Jill Arringtons than Melissa Starks and Andrea Kramers on the sidelines prove them wrong. Not only do women make up half the population, as Dietz points out, but they make up their fair share of sports experts as well. When will it be appropriate for women to pull off the sideline gloves and hat in exchange for a chair and microphone in the booth? Dietz should be commended for examining Rooney’s statement as more than just rude, but as an alarming look into the current state of women in sportscasting.