Allie O speaks out against ESPN's commentating

Well she does look like a child wrote:

Well she does look like a child. Also, every other sport talks about the height and weight of their athletes. Why is this so taboo in running?

Was there any commentary on throwers being overweight, jumpers being skinny? It's not necessary.

Remember when pre was called “the burly American” by the brit commentators lol.

Remember when they’d call all those wonderful Ethiopian female runners “baby faced assassins”

Remember when Steph Curry first came into the league and looked 12, they called him the baby faced assassin.

This is why kaepernick kneeled for the anthem lol- only way for an otherwise overlooked athlete to get clicks and attention.

Hobby jogging wrote:

Hobby Yogging wrote:

It's talked about more in those sports because each position has "standards" for height and weight.

It's talked about because your height and weight affects how you play.

And distance running doesn't have "standards" for height and weight? And height and weight in distance running doesn't affect how you run? Football and basketball don't have the same eating order epidemic. Those players perform optimally at a much different body composition.

Allie O interviewed by a happy fanboy newsman. Might run Prefontaine Classic:

https://youtu.be/A2iZb_Rg6bw

Allie O graduated from Boise State last month. Are we assuming she'll try to use her final year of eligibility as a graduate student?

https://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/allie-ostrander-makes-history-wins-third-national-steeplechase-title/Content?oid=18630715

NoTrack wrote:

cwarcarblue11 wrote:

The real problem is how little ESPN commentators know about the sport. It's no wonder they have to resort to talking about pointless things, because they haven't followed the sport at all and they need to come up with stuff to say. NBC is just as bad, unless it is NBC gold which often has Steve Cram and Tim Hutchings.

Wish we could have Ryan Fenton, Chris Chavez, Jon Gault, or Gordon Mack and Lincoln Shyrack do the commentating. People who have followed the sport for years and know everything about it. Sometimes even professional athletes don't make good commentators because they don't fully follow the sport, just their particular event(s).

G-Mack???

He'd do a way better job than any ESPN or nbc announcer.

Any of the FlotRack guys calling the NCAAs?

Please . You must be joking.

Here is a tweet from Amanda Brooks from ESPN regarding what happened:

https://twitter.com/brooksad/status/1139642029783359488?s=12

Amanda used to work for USATF in media relations.

NFW wrote:

Any of the FlotRack guys calling the NCAAs?

Please . You must be joking.

They guys they have now are all really solid, especially compared to ESPN. No complaints.

except g-mack. never him. he tries to turn every broadcast into a Thursday night at VFW bad stand up routine. He's not funny.

Talkin Reign wrote:

Here is a tweet from Amanda Brooks from ESPN regarding what happened:

https://twitter.com/brooksad/status/1139642029783359488?s=12

Amanda used to work for USATF in media relations.

The barbies comment was clearly on the broadcast last year.

Yes the current guys and gals are all solid at Flotrack. I really love the diamond league announcers.

Yeah height and weight shouldn't be talked about especially since it is useless. I mean look at Bekele, my man is pretty thick for a runner, more of a realistic human body mass and he is the GOAT. GOAT. PERIOD.

Why is this such a big deal? The athlete’s physique certainly affects their performance one way or the other, it’s natural that a discussion about them might then include these relevant details.

It’s also natural that professionals and athletes that purposefully choose a career that makes them a public figure might have their appearance commentated on.

It’s not specific to women or to running.

Elon Musk’s weight is often remarked on in pieces about him. Brazilian football player Hulk’s ass was talked about more during the World Cup than his playing skills. Eddie Lacy was often criticised for gaining weight during one of his seasons with the Packers.

Just watched the espn coverage again, I didn’t hear them say anything...

no mo baby face wrote:

Just watched the espn coverage again, I didn’t hear them say anything...

It is considered chic to bash ESPN these days. It makes simplistic angry males feel good about themselves. It reminds of posters on golf forums feeling good about themselves by insisting that Johnny Miller referenced his 63 at Oakmont during every NBC golf telecast. Disregard that Miller would go entire decades without mentioning it once. Conventional wisdom is more popular than reality.

This entire thread feels like a bizarre parody because I remembered Allie volunteering the comment about not feeling "hot in an attractive way" even though the ESPN commentator was referring to the hot weather. I'm glad that quote was eventually linked and referenced in this thread, even if it took 4 pages when it should have been near the top of the first page.

The coverage of Allie has been overwhelmingly positive, on ESPN and elsewhere. She has apparently been overly self-conscious about her looks and references to age. Imagine winning huge races and being eager to see the video clips, and then save them for your future. I'm sure it's got to sting when references to appearance are part of it. That is normal and logical for anyone who stands out as considerably different than expectation.

If someone looks much older than actual age it generates comments on forums like this. But the network commentators will avoid it. Looking younger is generally considered a positive so the analysts don't hesitate. Perhaps that is not ideal but it is the reality.

Weight is similar but the comments can be considerably more cruel. Thin is considered positive but heavy a negative. Currently there is a very fat female golfer at the University of Arizona named Haley Moore. She has been prominent in recent years including helping the team win the national championship in 2018. Golf Channel and ESPN and other media have been ultra respectful in not mentioning Haley's weight and appearance, other than to run feature stories on the difficulties she has faced, like teasing from peers. However the comments on some fan forum have been incredibly harsh. I'm sure it's the same if not worse on social media.

I always have to laugh when ESPN is criticized along these lines, when the trend is exponentially worse just about anywhere I look on the internet.

I think ESPN is right to comment on it

Let's face it - she has some weight issues it seems , as evidenced by her frail looking frame and 1,000 injuries/stress fracture

When she is on, man she is tough to stop - but being malnourished like that is not sustainable and will lead to injuries

ESPN Freedom Fighter wrote:

Mike Jay said that he is the guilty party. Apparently the comments were not on the broadcast.

Makes a great deal of sense. I've forever been amazed at the latitude allowed to stadium announcers in all sports. They seldom if ever seem to catch any grief over it, especially once they become locally popular. No oversight at all. I've heard on-site swimming and track and field guys make comments that would never be kosher on a broadcast itself.

were the comments necessary? no. were they offensive? no. trying to fill in dead air in a distance race is near impossible for a commentator. sit through a season of football and you will have a notebook filled of things more offensive said by broadcasters then will ever be said about Allie O. Just get over it.

and in the words of Brent Musberger ......."SECOND AND NINE!"

BigIssue1 wrote:

I think ESPN is right to comment on it

Let's face it - she has some weight issues it seems , as evidenced by her frail looking frame and 1,000 injuries/stress fracture

When she is on, man she is tough to stop - but being malnourished like that is not sustainable and will lead to injuries

She's been injured twice in her 4 years there. She's a lot more durable than plenty of other talented NCAA runners.

the barbie comment was 2018