The Zarb School’s Business in Sports panel highlights women

Women are competing for equality in sports leadership roles. They plan to pass the baton to the women coming behind them. // Photo courtesy of Celeste Jonsen International.

Hofstra’s Frank G. Zarb School of Business hosted a virtual panel via YouTube on Wednesday, April 21, discussing the roles, opportunities and struggles that women have had in the sports business world. The panel featured women who have held high-ranking positions in various corporations of the sports business world, such as the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), WNBA and NCAA. Hofstra students and staff took an inside look at what it takes to reach the pinnacle of the sports business industry.

All three speakers were women at the top of their predominantly white, male-dominated fields and felt the obligation to pass their knowledge on to the next generation.

“Women continue to be underrepresented in the sports world,” said Janet Lenaghan, dean of the Zarb School.

“I do not view being a woman, or an African American, as a burden,” said Michelle Roberts, Executive Director of the NBPA, who recalled instances of gender and race-based belittlement in the workplace. “I view it as a blessing.”

She recognized her position as a figure that young people can look up to and gain the confidence they need to be successful in the sports industry. “You’re going to have to decide: ‘Am I giving him power?’ or ‘Am I maintaining my power?’”

“The people that come after us will take this profession to a whole new level and I want to help them get there,” said Val Ackerman, former WNBA commissioner and current commissioner of the Big East Conference. She went on to talk about her experience working for the NBA, the  former commissioner, David Stern and how he gave her an opportunity that no one else would. “David opened doors for me ... and I feel it's my obligation to do the same for future generations.”

Many female students felt honored to meet such prominent women in sports and commended the University for facilitating this event.

“I think it's really cool that the Zarb School is doing this panel because as a woman in sports, I know that it’s 90% guys,” said Kayla McKechnie, a sophomore public relations major and assistant sports director at WRHU, “and having women like this to look up to is a really cool thing for myself and all women around the sports world.”

The panel also stressed the importance of making sure that the next generation of women in sports is more successful than the current one.

“There are a growing number of girls and women who are playing sports today from a young age,” Ackerman said. “Sports participation is now a part of their childhood like it has been for generations for young boys.”

While Roberts and Ackerman may be in powerful positions, it is recognized between both speakers and Hofstra students that the work to get women equal treatment in the sports world is not complete.

“We need more women in sports because without them these organizations will not be able to function to their highest potential,” Ackerman said.

“The role of women in sports today is nowhere close to where it needs to be,” said Aidan Henry, a sophomore music business major. “Women have been so overlooked in this industry for so long and it's time we accept them for the contributions they have made to sports.”

Some Hofstra athletes shared the same sentiment. Mikail Wasi, a freshman biochemistry major, was training to be a sprinter for the Hofstra track team prior to the season’s cancellation due to COVID-19.

“Why are we [men] getting more recognized than them?” Wasi said in response to the inherent double standard in sports. “It’s just that [women] are not fully recognized for the hard work they put in, the countless hours – just like we do.”

The panel touched on themes that went beyond the sports world as well.

“I think it's very admirable [the University] gave [the panelists] a platform to help women in sports,” said Faith Renner, a senior environmental resources and drama major, “but I think it's just as important in sports as it is … in other [industries] that women should be able to rise up and look up to other women for inspiration.”