On April 25, Just Not Sports, a podcast dedicated to sports culture, uploaded a video entitled “#MoreThanMean – Women in Sports ‘Face’ Harassment.” Inspired by Jimmy Kimmel’s “Mean Tweets” segment, the video features sports reporters Sarah Spain and Julie DiCaro sitting face-to-face with different men and listening as the men read aloud real tweets that were written and directed at the two reporters. In the week since “#MoreThanMean” was posted, it has caught the attention of several other sports news outlets, such as ESPN and Bleacher Report, and, as of May 4, the video had more than three million views on YouTube.

The tweets read in the video start off as light banter, with the men reading retorts at the assertions the two reporters make in their articles. However, the tweets quickly devolve and their focus shifts away from article content. They become personal attacks, calling Spain and DiCaro “bitch” and “c—.” They bring up and disavow DiCaro’s prior sexual assault. At their worst, they call for harm and death upon the two reporters; one tweet calls for DiCaro to get “hit in the head with a hockey puck and killed.” As the video goes on, the camera pans in on the faces of the men reading the tweets. These faces show apprehension, disgust and apology as the men struggle to read aloud such heinous comments.

The video ends with the message, “We would not say it to their faces. So let’s not type it.” This message is admirable but not uncommon. It’s the digital age equivalent of other golden rules, like “treat others the way you want to be treated.”

The video aimed to draw attention to the harassment female sports journalists frequently face. With millions of views on YouTube and countless shares on Facebook, there’s no doubt the original goal was accomplished. However, by limiting its goal to just raising awareness, “#MoreThanMean” has ignored the bigger problem, which is the need to empower women in sports journalism and those seeking a career in the field.

For almost its entirety, “#MoreThanMean” focuses on the men reading the tweets. The final message is targeted toward men and urges men to be responsible for the things they say online. Admittedly, this does make sense because men make up the majority of sport journalism readership in America. However, by focusing on men as the problem and solution for harassment of female sports journalists, “#MoreThanMean” has offered little recourse to women. In the few shots of Spain and DiCaro reacting to the men reading, they are shown doing little more than sitting stoically or holding back tears.

The strategy for combating the harassment of women in sports journalism has to be two-pronged: reducing the amount of harassment that women receive and empowering women to continue their work despite harassing comments. “#MoreThanMean” has begun to address the former issue but has done little regarding the latter. However, that defect could be easily changed. Female sports journalists should team up and continue to perpetuate Spain and DiCaro’s anti-harassment message. “#MoreThanMean,” with its resonating imagery and its memorable hashtag, has the potential to become a much more powerful movement.

After “#MoreThanMean” gained publicity, Spain wrote a column in espnW entitled, “Grace under fire: Women in media shouldn’t have to ‘ignore’ abuse.” In it, she discussed her hope that public service announcements like “#MoreThanMean” will inspire parents and teachers to open up dialogues about misogyny and acceptance of a diversity of voices. As we work everyday toward a world free of meaningless harassment, we must recognize the importance of advancing potentially powerful movements. The “#MoreThanMean” video has grabbed the attention of more than three million people and cracked open the door for dialogue about the harassment of female sports journalists. That door should be kicked wide open and the movement expanded to further discourage harassment and empower women in the sports journalism field.

Colin Wang is a Weinberg sophomore. He can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.