About two years ago, 18 year old pole vaulter Allison Stokke found herself the unwitting toast of much of the sports blogosphere, with a number of heavy-breathing characters — With Leather’s Matt Ufford most infamously — pawing her photographs with the sort of enthusiasm rarely shown towards high school track & field competitors. An article by the Washington Post’s Eli Salow portrayed Stokke’s father, Newport, CA Lionel-Hutz-in-the-making Allan as “keeping an watchful eye” over the predatory tone of much of the blog commentary concerning his daughter.
“It just all feels really demeaning, said Ms. Stokke at the time, after which Ufford appeard on Fox News and compared the teenager to Maria Sharapova. Y’know, he was really doing her a favor with all that terrific exposure.
Fast foward to today, and Spike TV has announced Stokke and table tennis player Biba Golic are the finalists in their “Guys Choice” Sexiest Athlete Awards (“one can work a pole, the other will paddle your ass; either way, losing has never been so sweet.”) Deadspin‘s A.J. Daulerio, presumably loathe to call the University Of California Athletic Department, contacted a Spike PR flack and claims “Allison does know about this. She’s okay with it. And? If she wins…she will show up to the event to claim her prize.”
Daulerio isn’t the only one willing to accept the word of a Spike employee as gospel. With Leather‘s Punte declares, “Allison Stokke has finally given into the dark side…look who’s finally comfortable with her status as a sex object.”
This seems like very flimsy evidence for either blogger to insist Stokke has done anything other than learn Spike TV has used her competition photographs for something besides a discussion of pole vaulting technique. Of course, If she’s consented to such treatment, that’s her right as an adult. But it’s very hard to fathom just what the likes of Deadspin and With Leather find so weird about women making up their own minds about where, when or if they wanna be ogled.
Dead on.
I remember I stopped watching ESPN (except for background noise) because nothing seemed thought out. I got tired of the manufactured circuses, self-loving personalities, & Peter Gammons picking the Royals as his sleeper team every single year. I started reading sports blogs. I thought it was cool that other people were sick of it too.
However – the blog circus, for the most part, has become just as uninspired & actually more gross. I sometimes feel embarrassed after I read a blog. Like I am the only one in the room not smiling.
I get bored on the internet just like everyone else and I religiously, without thought, click around and around jumping from one gutter to the next. But sometimes I read something like the Allison Stokke saga and I just get sad (for a fleeting moment).
I doubt her life has been completely ruined and – of course – becoming the internet’s favorite tug girl (without any of her own effort besides competing on her high school track & field team) could end up helping her in the future if she chooses.
However – I’d hate to see the day when these classless dopes get to take credit for any kind of publicity or career she chooses to take part in. Because even if she does capitalize on her unsolicited notoriety, it does not mean that her life couldn’t have been better off without it.
I’d agree her life probably hasn’t been ruined, but that’s sort of for Stokke to say. It was argued by Ufford two years that “becoming the internet’s favorite tug girl” (your words, not his) might be a great career move. I’m sure you’d agree it’s presumptuous to suggest that girls who just happen to be photographed during a track & field event oughta aspire to such a thing. There was nothing in Stokke’s prior history to indicate she was gunning for a future Maxim spread. The lamest part of Ufford’s unapologetic leering was the implication that any female with the temerity to a) be attractive and b) wear something other than a burka is fair game for similar treatment online.
It’s not exactly a great motivator for a lot of girls to try for sports, I’ll put it that way.
Somewhere there is a college paper being written about Danica Patrick representing the New Feminism or some such garbage. Whatevs. I’ll leave the heavy lifting on that one to the rocket scientists who post sports blog comments sections. Oh, wait…
If Danica Patrick is the new feminist then I’m a chinman.
Anyway I can be a scumbag. I’ve done scumbag things in my life. However – it is usually followed with a sense of shame. I certainly don’t gleam with pride & pretty much blame the victim.