Armour: Devaluing of women by big-time sports must stop

At first glance, it seems like good, harmless fun. The Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers dress their rookies in the most embarrassing and mortifying outfits possible, then post pictures to further the hilarity.

Except that, given the events of the last two weeks, the choice of costumes last weekend was anything but amusing. Brightly colored tutus and hot pink legwarmers? Skimpy underwear and stockings for the Tigers? What, were all the Playboy bunny costumes sold out?

One thing that has become painfully clear, as the NFL has bumbled and fumbled its handling of the growing list of domestic abuse cases, is how little the major sports leagues and some male athletes value women.

Oh sure, they'll happily sell pink merchandise and greedily calculate the boost to their bottom lines as female interest grows; far from the NFL being a male bastion, women now make up 45 percent of the fan base. They'll trot out the mothers of players to make them more warm and cuddly. They'll even let a few women into their boys' club.

But mostly women are treated as objects to be ogled – scantily-clad cheerleaders and dance teams – or mocked in tights and tutus. It's that mindset that has helped foster an environment in which Ray Rice thinks it's OK to knock his future wife unconscious and the San Francisco 49ers stand defiantly by Ray McDonald.

And, lest we pick on the NFL too much, for Indiana Pacers center Paul George to imply in a series of Tweets that Janay Rice somehow had it coming to her.

"These things aren't harmless," said Debra Guckenheimer, a sociologist at Stanford's Clayman Institute for Gender Research.

Cultures of violence are typified by hyper masculinity and hyper femininity, Guckenheimer said, the perception that men and women must meet rigid stereotypes. Men, of course, are physically strong and aggressive (sounds like a description of the NFL) while women are, Guckenheimer said, "very sexualized."

"These notions of gender are really connected with power," Guckenheimer said. "So when we see things some people can say are really innocent, we can actually see in them aspects of this culture of gender violence."

Or as James Brown so eloquently put it when he pleaded during CBS' pregame show last Thursday for an end to domestic violence, "It starts with how we view women."

"Our language is important," Brown said. "For instance, when a guy says, 'You throw the ball like a girl' or 'You're a little sissy,' it reflects an attitude that devalues women and attitudes will eventually manifest in some fashion."

Not always in violence. But often.

So how do we transform that vision of women as little more than sexed-up playthings into something more healthy and positive, one where women are valued and respected and – dare I even say it? – admired.

It starts by taking the conversation and not simply changing it, but turning it on its head.

Under Armour Women's new "I Will What I Want" campaign features both a ballerina and a lingerie model. But they bear no resemblance to those delicate flowers the Nationals and Tigers mocked last weekend.

Misty Copeland is a soloist for the American Ballet Theater. She also has rock-hard calves, muscular thighs and biceps that would be the envy of any person, in any gym. Instead of strutting the catwalk like some glam-azon, Gisele hits and kicks a punching bag during a vigorous workout while comments that praise, criticize and objectify her come and go in the background.

The campaign also features skier Lindsey Vonn, U.S. soccer player Kelley O'Hara, tennis player Sloane Stephens and surfer Brianna Cope, all of whom have had to tap into a reservoir of mental and physical strength to get to where they are in their lives and careers

The message is that women – all women – are strong, have worth and are deserving of respect.

"It's not even a question of the way women deserve to be spoken to or want to be spoken to. It's the way women must be spoken to," said Leanne Fremar, senior vice president and executive creative director for Under Armour Women's.

Because until the devaluing of women stops, the violence never will.