2 months ago
In March 2025, nan Arizona State women’s hoops squad were looking for a coach who could extremity a drought that had seen them spell without a NCAA Tournament quality – aliases moreover a winning play – since 2019-20.
The prime was Molly Miller, a proven and successful caput coach astatine Grand Canyon. Miller had led nan Lopes to their first NCAA Tournament quality and a 32–3 grounds successful her last play pinch nan squad – a benchmark for nan programme and an important accomplishment wrong nan broader scope of assemblage basketball. She soon turned astir Arizona State, starring them to a 24-11 grounds and a first quality astatine nan NCAA Tournament successful six years. (Their play ended successful nan First Four.)
But nan sermon astir Miller’s hiring extended beyond her credentials. Miller is blond and petite, a conventionally “all-American” charismatic woman. From there, nan speech blurred. Fans focused connected a communal trope projected connected to women successful sports; nan chat shifted towards her looks, alternatively than the records she has broken, and nan occupation she was hired to do.
One TikTok connected her assignment praised her arsenic “one of nan champion hoops coaches to ever locomotion nan Earth” earlier noting she “is a beautiful female … I dislike saying it, but if you cognize thing astir Arizona State, you spell because it’s beautiful. If you know, you know.”
Another TikTok, pinch much than 300,000 views, appears erstwhile you type successful nan sanction “Molly Miller” connected nan app. The caption reads: “Molly Miller isn’t going viral because of her coaching.”
In nan video, personification CFBChuck, who covers assemblage sports connected his page, catalogs her accomplishments earlier he pivots pinch a “but”. He adds: “Arizona State’s biggest trading point: large statement school, beautiful women.” The comments conception includes observations specified arsenic “she’s truthful hot,” and “so she’s a D.E.I hire, sewage it.”
This is thing caller successful hoops – and sports much broadly – wherever women person agelong been evaluated connected their looks, often arsenic an assumed hold of their master roles. From nan statement of nan WNBA, where trading campaigns pushed a “straight woman adjacent door” image, intertwined pinch overt sexualization, to today, nan shape has been consistently reductive. When Miller’s achievements are met pinch a “but …,” it suggests that merit unsocial is inadequate, that her accomplishments, nary matter really substantial, are measured against nan constrictive modular of beingness attractiveness. In spite of a profession defined by tangible success, Miller’s worthy is still implicitly weighed much heavy towards her quality than nan effect she has made.
A compliment present aliases location astir Miller’s looks is unsurprising, but nan broader shape tells a different story. Whether it’s a subordinate for illustration Paige Bueckers being targeted pinch sexualized TikTok edits or stalked online, aliases a journalist for illustration Taylor Rooks being memefied arsenic if her rapport pinch NBA players exists solely because they find her attractive, nan connection is clear. These women are denied nan in installments of their ain master merit, their occurrence alternatively repackaged arsenic a capacity for antheral consumption.
Misogyny, misogynoir and objectification discarded women’s time. Instead of being allowed to thrive, organizations for illustration nan NCAA, WNBA and NWSL are stymied by pervasive narratives that mobility women’s legitimacy. Online commentary from men insisting that women should not advocator for higher salaries because their leagues are allegedly little profitable aliases entertaining exemplifies this obstruction. Women are past trapped successful a rhythm of changeless negotiation, mentation and self-validation. They must many times show their competence alternatively than simply do their jobs.
This distraction is not incidental; it is intentional. It reinforces a communicative that undermines and diminishes women’s rightful spot successful sports, delaying nan acknowledgment that they are afloat tin of performing their roles. Misogyny, successful each its forms, is not simply a individual burden; it is simply a systemic building designed to stall progress, dilute powerfulness and support women defending their very existence, alternatively than let them to beforehand connected nan merit of their work.
Rooks addressed this move on a caller podcast pinch Lou Williams and Spank Horton. She was forced to asseverate that, contempt nan sexualized attraction she receives, her looks person not influenced her activity – a connection prompted by repeated suggestions that she secures nan “best interviews” pinch NBA players because of her “pretty privilege”.
Rooks deed back. “To minimize somebody’s accomplishment aliases capabilities aliases talent to nan truth that they possibly look bully to you is specified a disservice to each nan activity they person put in,” Rooks said. “And to deliberation that each it takes to beryllium successful this abstraction is to beryllium charismatic is besides conscionable incredibly disrespectful.”
Rooks is an Emmy nominee, has hosted NFL nationalist sum and worked arsenic a workplace big connected Amazon Prime, achievements she built from a profession that started erstwhile she was 18. Fifteen years later, she is still stuck fighting nan presumption that her quality dictated her success, forcing her to take sides her legitimacy.
“What I ever opportunity to myself is like, group deliberation I’m truthful bully astatine nan job, you person to deliberation I’m cheating – like, oh, she’s only capable to do this because she’s pretty,” she said connected nan podcast.
Rooks’s conflict pinch legitimacy is 1 Miller must spell done too. While sections of nan net person debated her looks, she guided a antecedently losing programme backmost to nan NCAA Tournament – an accomplishment that deserves nan aforesaid viral power nan world gave her appearance. And yet, nan sum for this feat is not going arsenic viral arsenic nan videos that person lusted complete her and diminished her ability.
