During quarantine—especially in the first few months—one of my favorite pastimes was watching clips from sports debate shows from that day. “First Take,” “Get Up!,” and “Undisputed” were my big three. I’m not sure why I watched so much, especially at a time during which no sports were being played. Maybe it’s like my version of reality TV or cooking shows: something to just put on that I half pay attention to.

As I watched these videos, I came to a realization, something that I already kind of knew but did not grasp the full extent of until now: People say some really dumb things on those shows. Like, preposterously dumb. I’m sure the fact that there were no sports made the shows difficult to do, a reality made obvious by the fact that they talked about the same exact things nearly every day. LeBron, Brady, Kawhi, Mahomes, rinse, repeat.

Graphic by Christine Watridge

I don’t really blame them for going this route, as there was basically nothing to talk about. But after listening to the same voices make the same heinous points day after day, I really began to wonder why some of these pundits were being paid to talk about sports. The crown is still Skip Bayless,’ and if his most recent viral take is any indication, he doesn’t look like he’s relenting his title anytime soon.

Earlier this week, though, another member of the I Have No Business Talking About Sports Club reared its big, fedora-laden head in the form of Jason Whitlock. I could write a dissertation about all of Whitlock’s bad opinions over the years, but for now, let’s just focus on his most recent. In the wake of Maria Taylor forgetting about Los Angeles Lakers’ forward Anthony Davis on her All-NBA ballot (she was a voting member of the press) and subsequently being told she didn’t deserve a vote if she made a mistake like that, Whitlock penned an article decrying so-called “beauty privilege” in the sports world. Essentially, he said that certain women (he named Taylor alongside Katie Nolan, Erin Andrews and Michelle Beadle) were only given the coveted positions they held in sports media due to their looks. Nolan responded on Twitter pointing out how close Whitlock was to understanding just how difficult it is to be a woman in sports media while still missing the point. Then, Whitlock wrote another article, this one a direct attack on Nolan, whom he called, “Karen, the epitome of white privilege masked by woke posturing and protected by the white and Black media elites allegedly dedicated to ending white privilege.” He emphasizes just how average of a talent he thinks Nolan is, saying she has “[little] on camera ability.” Note that Katie Nolan has won a Sports Emmy Award for her work.

The article reads like an incel subreddit, which probably isn’t too far from the truth. The most ridiculous moment is when he likens Nolan to Michael Brown, the young man who was killed by a cop in Ferguson, just a few miles from campus, six years ago. The idea he tries to express is that all the struggles Nolan and other women in sports media talk about are fabricated by liberals just to push a certain narrative, just like he claims happened with “hands up, don’t shoot” in the Brown case.

I could spend all day making fun of Whitlock. (Seriously, if anyone wants to spend all day making fun of Whitlock, hit me up.) But for the sake of this article, let’s think about Whitlock’s point here. He’s saying that a lot of women in sports television have their jobs partially or entirely due to the fact they are pretty. He points to Taylor as someone who is actually “super-talented” but is aided by her looks, and he points to Nolan as someone whom the media elites collectively decided was going to become a star and thus became one. Not at all on her own merit, but just because she is attractive. In short, he thinks she’s undeserving.

I met Katie Nolan last year. It was at the ESPYs after-party, and we were in the same closed-off area (that’s right, only V.I.P. for this guy). I really wanted to talk to her, as I found her to be an incredibly charming and refreshing personality in sports media. Also, she was a Liverpool fan, and I wanted to ask about that. I ended up talking to her for a while that night. I was more nervous than I thought I’d be and stumbled over a few words, but she was incredibly gracious the entire time. I have no idea whether she actually enjoyed talking to me, but if she didn’t, she did a damn good job at hiding it.

I’m telling this story to give you an idea of the type of person Nolan is. Not a diva, not an egomaniac. A regular girl from Boston who was a bartender just a decade or so ago. She also happens to be talented at what she does.

But let’s imagine, just for a second, that she isn’t a great sports personality. Let’s say Whitlock is right, and she is just merely okay at her job. Would that be the worst thing in the world?

Equal representation in sports media has been a long time coming, but equality will not be achieved if the only women being hired are bona fide superstars. The bar for a woman to get a job shouldn’t be being the next Doris Burke. Based on the standards for men, a woman should only have to be as good at her job as Jason Whitlock is at his: in other words, average.

Clearly, Whitlock is jealous that no one cares what he has to say about anything anymore, especially when women are (deservedly) getting more attention than he is. There are so many great women in sports media right now, from Taylor and Nolan to others like Chiney Ogwumike, who has been killing it on TV and radio while still being a WNBA player, and Rebecca Lowe, the host of NBC’s Premier League coverage, the overall best live sports product in the U.S. Across the pond, Alex Scott, former England and Arsenal player, has been killing it as the first full-time woman pundit on Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage.

Women being held to a higher standard than men is not a new phenomenon, nor is it unique to sports. But that makes it no less frustrating, especially when we’re reminded every day of just how mediocre some men are at their jobs.