Growing up surrounded by sports, choosing a career in the sports industry came natural to Lachelle Smith. Having an older brother who played sports she constantly was in an environment she would later make a career path of. She knew that pursuing a career in sports was a dream she always hoped for but being a Black woman in sports, she would experience challenges that help shape her into the dynamic woman in sports she is today.

Immersing herself into the world of sports she became eager to learn more and become involved. Playing basketball during her childhood, when writing and interviewing athletes she was able to understand what it's like to be an athlete. Smith’s goal as a woman in sports is showing the world the humanity of athletes. Building connections, trust, and telling their stories. She strives to be a representation of a Black woman being successful in an industry that for years has lacked diversity.

Being a woman commanding respect and a chance to prove that you belong is already difficult. The pressure of being Black adds its own obstacles, “I always say that it's already the hardest job in the world to be a Black woman in America with that, no matter the industry, I think people don't understand that how much Black women go through just in general. And then you put them in a male dominated industry. Plus, it's a very white male dominated industry.”

According to the Sports Media Racial and Gender Reports Card from the Associated Press Sports Editors in 2021 the percentage of sports reporters in the industry are 77.1 percent White. Out of that there are only 10.7 Black men and Black women only hold 1.1 percent. Black women make up a small percentage of the sports industries population, therefore lacking the perspectives and diversity. We’ve seen Black women who are sports reporters come on the scene such as Cari Champion, Malika Andrews, and Taylor Rooks. But they only represent a small population.

Smith has been blessed with job opportunities such as working with ESPN and currently working at The Players’ Tribune, a sports media platform. These jobs have granted her the chance to work towards her goals of creating spaces of diversity. At ESPN she worked as an audio podcast intern producing and editing podcasts being streamed on the platform. She’s also had the opportunity to gather information and help with research for “First Take, Her Take” on ESPN. At The Players’ Tribune she is currently an Associate Editor where she conducts interviews with athletes and produces written pieces. Storytelling is a major key to Smith’s career, “I love sports. I love debating sports. I love the statistics of it all. Like the logistics of actual reporting, but the storytelling of it all. It's like that's by far, I think, the most special part about sports.”

Breaking Barriers

Being a Black woman in the world brings many challenges that add to the pressures of establishing and creating a platform for your career. Having to prove that they belong, being quizzed, and questioned about the knowledge of the game are just a few challenges of being a Black woman in sports. “I've had my share of men who will question me or try to quiz me… questions you wouldn't be asking even a regular man if he knows…they want to validate. Are you even capable of being in this space,” Smith says. Constantly being ridiculed about her knowledge and presence in the industry.

In the Black culture, expression through hair and fashion have not always been accepted in certain work environments. “You deal with the attire as Black women, you can put something on and it may be a little bit curvier on you. It's your body type, though, and you could be covering every inch of your body, but you're trying to do too much and you're trying to get attention from who you're interviewing. Whereas if somebody else, say, a white woman was to put that same dress on, it's beautiful. Oh, that's great. Where did you get it? Where can I get it? You know, it's a totally different reaction that Black women have to deal with with just their hair, their body, if you can you change your hair,” says Smith.

Comments about her hair, how it was styled or the color were instances where Smith experienced the difference of her culture in certain atmospheres, “Indirect comments people would make in classes I was in… People will use words like you don't want to be a distraction, don't have your hair be a distraction to your audience, or make sure you're covering every inch of your body because it could be a distraction. Distraction was always that one thing I always would hear and it would only be directed towards the Black women.”

Avery Hilliard, an upcoming sports broadcaster, says, “Black women aren't conforming to what they want us to look like. We're wearing our natural hair. We're wearing braids. You know, that's who we are. We don't all have silky hair, we have different textures of hair.” Issues about Black women’s hairstyles in workplaces is a very popular conversation and laws such as The Crown Act are helping to limit discrimination of different types of hairstyles.

Being versatile with their hairstyles, Black women often are questioned when switching their hair at their workplaces. Smith faced a challenge during an internship about changing the color of her hair. “ I first did my internship in Lafayette, there was a comment because I had blonde hair at the time… and I had worn black hair throughout that time, then I switched. I was like I don't have to tell y'all I’m switching my hair,” Smith says. Simply changing her hair color brought extra attention to her at work. She adds, “ I remember walking in and everyone just staring at me.”

At school Smith encountered comments about how changing her hair could impact her grade for a course. “ A professor literally told the Black women in the class, '' Don't come here with braids.” She adds, “ The rule in the class was whatever your hair is when you start the semester, your hair has to stay that way until the end of the semester.” The act of switching hairstyles could reflect in her grade. “That is crazy for someone to say for the next five months you cannot change your hair. If you change it, I'm going to fail you,” says Smith.

Black women have rich cultures when it comes to appearance that is seen as different or not fully understood. Cydney Bowman, who is a Manager in Private Event Sales & Client Services at SoFi Stadium says, “ It’s a part of our culture… We dress for how we feel, that's how we show our creativity and who we are. People do it in different ways. It's more commonly seen in our hair and our nails and what we wear…we're a very vibrant culture. So why not be allowed to do that? Of course, everything comes at the right time and the right everything.”

A sense of belonging and creating a space that is welcoming has posed a challenge for Black women. Constantly having to prove you qualify for a position or your job position being mistaken. Bowman recalls an instance where her job role was questioned, “The one that really stands out in my career is I was working for a team… And someone asked me if I was somebody’s wife... But to assume that being a woman, the only affiliation that I could possibly have was to be married to somebody who was part of the team.” She describes how she was dressed in work attire with her work badge on which left her confused about how she could be mistaken as a wife and not someone who worked there.

Challenges of Black women not only deal with appearance but making their presence known in rooms where they are the minority in both race and gender. Smith says, “It is hard when you get in these newsrooms and it's a male dominated thing, you're pitching stories to men technically. And there's a level of ``do I come off really soft and feminine when I'm saying these pitches, or do I have to tap into this alpha female energy.” Making your opinions known and standing up for your ideas are issues that women feel in male dominated fields like sports. Bowman expresses, “I think any room that you should be in is going to be receptive to that. I don't want anybody else to make you feel like you need to water yourself down in this industry. Have bright pink nail polish if you want to, have ombré blonde hair…be yourself.”

Leveling the Playing Field

The sports world is starting to take a turn in the right direction, diversifying the representation seen on camera and behind the scenes. It’s just a start, but it has been a long time coming and still has ways to go. Hilliard says, “ I want kids to start saying oh I want to be a sports broadcaster. But they have to see it.”

Leveling the playing field starts from the higher ups, the people in control of hiring and bringing diversity into positions. When expressing her thoughts about representation in the sports field Smith says, “I think the number one thing that needs to be improved are the higher ups, the people who are choosing the talent. It's a very white board room of people. That is where I think the change starts.” She adds, “ If more women, more Black women that are executives are creating shows and picking talent, they can be in those higher up chairs to say, okay, let's give so-and-so a shot.” Having someone in hiring positions to advocate for diverse perspectives helps with visibility.

Some organizations are realizing there needs to be diversity within companies to bring a variety of ideas to conversations. Bowman has also worked for sports teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cleveland Browns. “I think a big push for the NBA was when all the teams got a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiative… I was with the Cleveland Cavaliers and we were one of the first three teams to have a separate DEI department outside of HR,” she says. Team strides such as the Cleveland Cavaliers helped to create a dynamic that spread throughout the league. She adds, “I think all of the teams have now adopted that role model and department structure. And that alone impacts your organization from head to toe…So it's not, say, its an h.r matter which then everybody's like, let me check a box and say I hired a Black person, Black woman, you know, with more of a this is our department, this is our focus and this is how we train our organization to think from a holistic view.”

Representation is a tool that builds communities of support in sports and encourages other Black women to know there is room for them and their contributions. Having a community of support from Black women in the sports industry helps to ease the challenges. Bowman says, “We lean on each other… when one takes a step the next person is going to take a step and then we're all going to start our way up.”

Having someone to model after and seeing that it is possible to create your own path. Learning that your path may be different from others but that doesn’t stop you from creating your own story is a lesson that Smith is learning. “ I want Black women to know it doesn't have to be what I thought it had to be for me to get there,” she says. “It could be something totally different. God can open up a different lane that no one has ever seen where I can bring other black women up or vice versa for another black woman in that situation.”

Smith has mentors that she’s been lucky to follow after. Helping her through her journey being allies in the industry. “ I will say the women that I've met in the industry who understand what it's like to be a Black woman in this industry have been supportive. I’ve experienced them wanting to help you get there because they know how hard it is for Black women to be able to be at the pinnacle of what this is.” Some of her mentors included women in the sports industry such as Malika Andrews, Ellen Duncan, and Kimberly Martin.

Bowman speaks about the importance of having a supportive women community. Having women with similar experiences who understand what it’s like to be a Black woman in the sports industry. “I would say I have an incredible circle of women. Women truly support each other in this industry... And, you know, we really have each other's back,” she says.

There’s strength in endurance and breaking barriers for those who come after. Smith says, “Please, for the rest of us, for the generation to come after us and see these things, let it be more normal for them to see Black women on air and writing and to make Black women a central focus of who athletes tell their great stories to.. please don't stop. The world needs what we have. These athletes need what we have, the sports industry needs what we have and we won't ever have it if you stop. So please keep going.”

Lachelle Smith

Cydney Bowman

Lachelle Smith

Social Media's Impact

Social media is an outlet that has helped increase the awareness of different talented Black women in the field of sports. Media platforms such as Tik Tok, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc have allowed Black women in sports to broadcast their work and upload content to grow their viewership. Smith expresses, “Social media really brings some light that there's not a lot of diversity in.” Not only has social media given the chance for viewers to discover and keep up with talent but it helps connect the audience with the content creators. Smith says, “Social media is so imperative now that a lot of people are skipping the line to get to these top places by, you know, just putting that content out there. So I think the challenge is the mindset, you know, always be creating, always be writing. Just because it's not getting published doesn't mean it doesn't matter. You're still practicing.” She believes social media coverage helps Black women to put themselves out there for people to notice them and showcase their work.

The media allows Black women to have platforms and know that there is a space for them. Seeing a select amount of Black women on mainstream platforms sometimes makes it seem as if the opportunities have already been filled, Smith says, “You start to believe that you're one of those Black women that can't break in because of the numbers. You see the same few and you're like, Oh, well, they already got their ones that they want. They already got their Black women that they accept, that there is no room for me. And then you get all social media, you're like there are a lot of us out here trying.”

Looking Forward

Creating a space for Black women to be themselves and add their gifts to the world of sports generates room for new ideas and perspectives. Smith has stayed true to her passion. Her love for sports has driven her to grow and create content that spreads to her audience. Working at The Players’ Tribune, she’s been able to develop her art and confidence in her work. “ I think being at The Players’ Tribune, they've allowed me to have this confidence in what I'm writing, who I'm pitching, how I see it… They taught me a whole different level of storytelling. There's just so many layers to people's stories and it's our job to want to get that out of them,” she says. The encouragement from her job makes her determined to produce great content.

Her passion is preparing her to be an inspiration and role model for other Black women who want to be a part of the sports industry. Smith’s goals for her sports career are being present and attending events so her presence is felt in the room, creating doors for others who are coming after. Black women such as Smith are setting foundations to follow your aspirations no matter the limitations there seems to be, breaking down traditional standards and diversifying the field.