WOODLAND HILLS, CA — A new sports bar opened in Portland, Ore. on Friday that could be the first of its kind. The uniqueness that makes this bar different from most is that it will only show women’s sports on its TVs. The owner of The Sports Bra, Jenny Nguyen has been receiving national attention and praise from those in women’s sports for creating a place that they hope can become a new trend and impact the potential of women’s sports.
Owner of The Sports Bra, Jenny Nguyen stands outside of the bar on Monday, Feb. 22, 2022. (Photo Credit: Vickie Connor/Oregon Live)
It all started four years ago and culminated in a business that captured people’s attention even before the doors opened. Nguyen and a few of her friends were watching the NCAA women’s basketball final in April 2018 when they found themselves in the corner of a bar, watching a small TV, the only one in the bar showing the game, without any game sound on. The matchup between Notre Dame and Mississippi State was one of the best games that Nguyen had seen, yet no one else in the bar was paying any attention.
“We went nuts — screaming and jumping. No one else in the entire bar was watching our game. So they were like, ‘What just happened?’” Nguyen said.
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This was not the first time that Nguyen had experienced a women’s sports game with no game sound on at a sports bar. Unlike major games in men’s sports, it can be challenging to even get the staff at certain establishments to put women’s sports on the TV. Some places don’t even get the channels that women’s sports are on unless they are showing on national channels.
“It was almost always a little bit of a chore to get a women’s game on TV. It would never just naturally be on,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen and her friends joked that they’d never truly be able to enjoy watching women’s sports unless they opened up a place of their own, but there was a level of truth within the joke. A common misconception is that women’s sports aren’t as popular as men’s sports, but the truth is that it's unknown how much revenue women’s sports could bring in because they are rarely shown on national TV or during primetime. Nielsen data from 2019, which was the last ‘normal’ season for leagues before COVID-19 hit, show that 96% of professional basketball games that were televised were NBA games, while only 4% were WNBA games. The same data show that 77% of men’s professional golf events were televised, while only 18% of women’s events were televised.
The lack of exposure leads to fewer people having the chance to fully become knowledgeable and develop a passion for women’s sports, which causes the revenue to be lower. That then leads to the mindset that women’s sports aren’t as popular, giving networks the excuse to not air them, and the cycle continues.
"When people talk about, 'women's sports isn't popular, no one's into it,' there are tons of people that are into it and you're just not seeing it,” Nguyen said.
Some of the memorabilia decorating the walls of The Sports Bra on Friday, April 1, 2022. (Photo Credit: New School Beer)
Nguyen is working hard to show as many women’s sports as she possibly can so, she is working with streaming services and other media companies to show everything from the WNBA to women’s surfing. When there is not a woman’s sport televised to show, then the bar will turn the TVs off. She’s hoping that by doing this she can drive home her point that women’s sports do not get enough airtime.
"It's mostly a statement showing this is a space for women's sports - to show women's sports - and there's nothing for us to show. And it's not because women aren't playing, it's that it's not being televised," Nguyen said.
AUDIO
Jenilee reports on a Portland bar that only shows women's sports
Helping women’s sports progress is one of Nguyen’s goals. She’s hoping that The Sports Bra brings more attention to women’s sports so that investments will be made to grow these sports and leagues, eventually leading to pay equity. Female athletes make considerably less money than their male counterparts across multiple sports.
Average player compensation per sport in 2019. (Chart Credit: Adelphi University)
This might be why female athletes don’t continue onto higher levels in their sport.
"The statistics show that 40-60 percent of girls drop out of sports by the age of 17 and most of them do it because they don't see a future for themselves in it. When they're seeing only men playing sports, they don't think that they can go to that next level," Nguyen said.
The Sports Bra is supporting women in other ways too. A Portland-area non-profit program called Girls Build made the picnic tables that line the entrance. The beef that is served comes from Carman Ranch, which is run by Cory Carman. Nguyen also wants the beers on tap to come from female-run or owned breweries. The menu has cocktails with names like Title IX and Triple Axel to drive home the point. The creative tagline, “We Support Women” sits at the top of the menu.
(Photo Credit: KATU)
Now that The Sports Bra has opened, it will be interesting to see if this type of bar becomes a trend that takes off in other cities. This could be a new way to help women’s sports achieve the next level.
By: Jenilee Borek
Contributions: The Washington Post, KATU, KGW
Photo Credit: Vickie Connor, Oregon Live, New School Beer, KATU
Chart Credit: Adelphi University
Audio: Jenilee Borek, KGW
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