Sports

Opinion: The sexualization of professional athletes

Published

5 months ago

July 29, 2025

You open TikTok for a quick scroll or a laugh, and almost immediately, you’re met with slow-motion clips of athletes overlaid with suggestive captions and heart-eyed comments. But the focus isn’t on their record-breaking speed, their unmatched technique, or the years of training behind every move. Instead, it’s on their looks. Their bodies. Their desirability.

It’s easy to brush off as harmless: just another TikTok trend, another fancam, another thirst comment. But this kind of content is more than casual admiration. It’s part of a growing culture that blurs the line between appreciation and objectification, turning athletes from competitors into influencers, sex symbols, and sometimes, unwilling internet fantasies. While increased media coverage and popularity can showcase their talent, it also contributes to a problematic culture of hyper-sexualization. And while the sexualization of athletes has always been a concern, social media platforms have drastically expanded the issue.

A notable example of this issue is former Seattle Kraken hockey player Alex Wennberg, who became the subject of widespread online objectification, particularly within TikTok’s BookTok community. Fans began casting him as the lead in a fictional romance series and flooding comment sections with graphic fantasies.

Famous BookTok influencer Kierra Lewis made particularly inappropriate comments about Wennberg, some of which include her praying to be turned into ice so he could “glide” on her and urging him to “krack [her] back,” on a platform with over a million followers. The latter phrase immediately took off within the TikTok community, turning into a viral joke — one that even the Seattle Kraken’s social media account joined in on.

But it wasn’t amusing to Wennberg or his wife. Felicia Wennberg took to Instagram to condemn the explicit behavior, calling out the community’s exhibition of predatory behavior and complete disregard for boundaries. Wennberg himself spoke up, sharing the emotional toll it had taken on his family.

“The aggressive language about real-life players is too much,” he posted on his Instagram story. “It has turned into daily and weekly comments on our personal social media. This is not something we support or want our child to grow up with. All we ask for is a little respect and common sense moving forward. We can all take a joke and funny comments, but when it turns personal and into something bigger that affects our family, we need to tell you that we’ve had enough.”

Even author Emily Rath, whose books inspired the fancasts, admitted things had gone too far.

“They weren’t treating him like a hockey player or even like a fictional boyfriend,” Rath said. “You just saw them sexually fantasizing about him in crass and inappropriate ways in a public forum.”

The Kraken’s initial participation in the trend also raised concerns about the role of organizations in enabling objectification. By engaging with this content and providing a platform for it, the team inadvertently contributed to the normalization of this behavior. This controversy also raised a larger concern about online communities treating athletes as untouchable figures rather than individuals with personal lives and boundaries.

This problem is prevalent in more than just social media platforms. Another example of athlete objectification is seen with former professional tennis player Anna Kournikova. Despite Kournikova’s successful doubles career, where she reached No. 1 in the world and won Grand Slam titles, her legacy is often reduced to magazine covers and search engine results that labeled her as a model before an athlete. Her looks became the headline, her talent the footnote. Kournikova eventually became one of the most recognized names in tennis during the late 1990s and early 2000s, but for degrading reasons.

“Sometimes, when I do great, it’s, ‘Oh, after all she can play,’ or, ‘Finally she shows more than her looks,” Kournikova said. “I mean, please!”

Despite her long-standing career decorated with achievements, her case is a prime example of how hypersexualization can influence public opinion and how female athletes are marketed and remembered. The conversation around them isn’t about their skill or perseverance — it’s about how they look in a uniform or how their photos perform online.

Some may argue that any attention, even if driven by sexualization, benefits athletes by increasing their popularity, securing brand deals, and boosting their marketability. Additionally, some athletes may not mind or may even embrace this aspect of fame.

But what’s the cost of being noticed only when you’re “hot enough”? What about the athletes who are more talented but less conventionally attractive? Additionally, this perspective overlooks the emotional toll and discomfort that hyper-sexualization brings to athletes who are publicly disturbed by it. These various benefits do not justify reducing athletes to objects of desire.

As high schoolers, we’re not immune. Whether it’s through “harmless” jokes, fan edits, or flirty comments, we can end up reinforcing the same objectifying culture. Admiring athletes is natural, but reducing them to their looks isn’t.

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Sports

Philippine Star – WELCOME TO UBE NATION! 💜 Professional…

Published

8 minutes ago

January 1, 2026

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WELCOME TO UBE NATION!

Professional Volleyball League team Choco Mucho Flying Titans announced four addition to their team, Eya Laure, Jaila Atienza, Alina Bicar, and Caitlin Viray, for 2026 on Wednesday.

“The Choco Mucho Flying Titans welcome 4 new players to the team! They bring the grit, speed, and fire that will make every match unforgettable,” they wrote in their post.

This came after Royse Tubino, Bia General, Cherry Nunag, and Aduke Agunsanya ended their stint with the team. (Instagram/Choco Mucho Flying Titans)

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Blum outside hitter takes top honor on Texas 1A all-state volleyball team | Sports

Published

24 minutes ago

January 1, 2026

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Belmont Student-Athletes Have Another Impressive Semester in the Classroom

Published

41 minutes ago

January 1, 2026

Your Sports Nation

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – – Belmont University student-athletes recorded another remarkable semester in the classroom as 2025 fall semester grades were finalized last week.

For the 2025 fall semester, the departmental grade-point average (GPA) was 3.530, which marked the 56th consecutive semester that Belmont student-athletes have earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher. In addition, it was the 12^th straight semester that the department GPA was over a 3.5.

“Our student-athletes continue to do an amazing job in the classroom,” said Scott Corley, Belmont’s Vice President/Director of Athletics. “That success is a credit to our student-athletes, coaches, and academic support staff who continue to maintain our department’s commitment to academic excellence.”

Highlights from the fall semester included:

64 percent of student-athletes achieved a semester GPA of 3.5 or higher

85 percent of student-athletes achieved a semester GPA of 3.0 of higher

15 percent of student-athletes earned a perfect 4.00 GPA

9 Bruin teams posted a team GPA of 3.5 or higher for the semester.

About Belmont University

Located two miles from downtown Nashville, Tennessee, Belmont University comprises nearly 9,000 students from every state and 33 countries. Nationally ranked and consistently recognized by U.S. News & World Report for innovation in higher education, the University offers more than 115 areas of undergraduate study, 41 master’s programs and eight doctoral degrees. With a focus on whole-person formation and data-informed social innovation, Belmont is committed to forming diverse leaders of character equipped to solve the world’s complex problems. For more information, visit www.belmont.edu.

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Great season for Italian women’s volleyball crowned with the world title – FIVB

Published

57 minutes ago

January 1, 2026

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After winning the women’s Volleyball Nations League and the FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship earlier in the year, Italy crowned a great season with the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship title. Turkiye reached a World Championship final for the first time in history and settled for silver, while Brazil completed the podium with bronze. The year’s top event was held in Thailand from August 22 to September 7.

The first World Championship under the new biennial cycle and with an expanded 32-team format marked a breakthrough moment for the sport, with unprecedented audiences across volleyball’s major markets. Volleyball World’s OTT platform, VBTV, added further momentum with more than 7 million views across the championship. The Italy v Brazil semifinal attracted 350 thousand viewers, while the final drew 250 thousand, underscoring the global appetite for premium volleyball coverage beyond traditional broadcast. Social media popularity of the competition was expressed in 7.8 thousand posts and 145 million impressions, as well as 48 million YouTube views.

The 32 participating teams were drawn into eight round-robin pools of four for the first phase of the competition. Reigning Paris 2024 Olympic champions Italy cruised through Pool B undefeated, dropping a set only in their match against Belgium. They went on to sweep their eighthfinal against Germany and their quarterfinal against Poland in straight sets. In a hard-fought semifinal against Brazil, the Italians came back from a set down twice before emerging with a 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 28-30, 25-22, 15-13) victory. The gold medal showdown in Bangkok was also pushed to five sets. This time Turkiye came back from a set down twice to get closer than ever to the world title, but the trophy went to Italy after they prevailed in the tie-breaker, 3-2 (25-23, 13-25, 26-24, 19-25, 15-8). It was the second world crown for Italy, after their 2002 triumph. They also won silver in 2018 and bronze in 2022.

“I still can’t believe it,” Italian super-star opposite Paola Egonu said after the gold medal match. “I’m really proud of the team and incredibly happy. This is a moment I’ll never forget. It’s probably the last time for some of our players, too, and my heart is full now.”

Turkiye also reached the final undefeated. They did not lose a single set in Pool E, shut out Slovenia in the eighthfinals and beat USA in four sets in the quarterfinals. Another four-set victory, a 3-1 (16-25, 25-17, 25-18, 27-25) comeback in the semifinal against Japan, propelled Turkiye to their first ever World Championship final and secured them their first ever World Championship medal.

2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship silver medalists Turkiye

Brazil also won Pool C unbeaten, but only after coming back from two sets down to reverse-sweep their match against France. After a four-set eighthfinal victory over the Dominican Republic and a tight straight-set quarterfinal against France, they lost narrowly to Italy in the semis, but bounced back in the third-place playoff against Japan. A nail-biting 3-2 (25-12, 25-17, 19-25, 27-29, 18-16) win added the sixth medal to their World Championship collection. Brazil now have four silvers and two bronzes.

2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship bronze medalists Brazil

Japan, USA, the Netherlands, Poland, France, China, Serbia, Belgium, Germany, Thailand, the Dominican Republic, Canada, Slovenia, Ukraine, Spain, Sweden, Kenya, Greece, Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Czechia, Colombia, Bulgaria, Puerto Rico, Egypt, Slovakia, Vietnam and Cameroon, in that order, took the places from fourth to 32nd in the final standings.

Italy’s 27-year-old setter Alessia Orro was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the World Championship. She also headlined the Dream Team, which featured opposite Melissa Vargas (Turkiye), outside hitters Mayu Ishikawa (Japan) and Gabriela Guimaraes (Brazil), middle blockers Anna Danesi (Italy) and Eda Erdem (Turkiye), and libero Monica De Gennaro (Italy).

The 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship Dream Team

Click here for the official FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship website.

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Boys Track Small but Mighty at Recent Meet

Published

1 hour ago

January 1, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Jasper Samuelson and Emmett Schumann on their way to first and third-place finishes in the freshman-sophomore 600-meter run.

A small crew represented Bonac boys indoor track at a crossover meet at Suffolk Community College in Brentwood on Dec. 21, but the track and field athletes who did compete turned in impressive performances.

Coach Kevin Barry said only half of the team was able to participate because of winter recess and illnesses. At least seven runners were out with the flu.

The highlight came from Eduardo Calle, who became the first Bonac long jumper to break 20 feet in 15 years, with a leap of 20 feet 1 inch — good for third place.

“This is his second winter track season,” Barry said. “He jumped 19 feet 1 inch last year and has been improving every meet so far. Twenty feet was the goal for him going into the season. Now he has new goals to set.”

Jasper Samuelson and Emmett Schumann finished first and third over all in the freshman-sophomore 600-meter run, with times of 1:31.89 and 1:36.41. Samuelson also won the 300-meter dash immediately afterward in 40.38 seconds. Samuelson is now the fastest sophomore in Suffolk County, while Schumann is the second fastest freshman, both in the 600-meter distance.

Sean Perez, a senior, finished the 1,000-meter run in 2:50 — good for fifth place.

Coach Barry called his athletes “very dedicated and hard-working,” and said they’ll keep at it over winter recess. “As a team, we are hoping to get some good work done during the holiday break and survive the flu that is going around to set us up for the big meets coming in January.”

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Blue Bell/TSWA Class 2A All-State Volleyball Team

Published

1 hour ago

January 1, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Blue Bell/TSWA Class 2A All-State Volleyball Team

Published 8:44 am Thursday, January 1, 2026

LONGVIEW – Division II state champion Iola earned the top two honors in voting for the Blue Bell/Texas Sports Writers Association Class 2A All-State Volleyball Team for the 2025 season.

Player of the Year honors went to Iola outside hitter Shaylee McKown, and Iola’s Jamie McDougald earned Coach of the Year honors.

Voting was conducted by TSWA members based on nominations from coaches and media members from around the state.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Jamie McDougald, Iola

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Shaylee McKown, Iola

FIRST TEAM

Middle Blockers: Kellen Weaver, Beckville; Camryn Powers, Crawford; Kennedy Slay, Tioga

Outside Hitters: Shaylee McKown, Iola; Keegan Kleiber, Mumford; Rayna Sadler, Leon

Setter: Riley Goodney, Iola

Libero/Defensive Specialist: Averi Bolgiano, Crawford

SECOND TEAM

Middle Blockers: Jacie Boles, North Hopkins; Sy Parker, Nocona; Channing Horne, Leon

Outside Hitters: Macey Hoelscher, North Hopkins; Cami Hoyle, Iola; Ava Johnson, Nocona

Setter: Landry Zapalac, Schulenburg

Libero/Defensive Specialist: Jenna Guentert, Schulanburg

THIRD TEAM

Middle Blockers: Katherine Lindemann, Garrison; Tatum Miller, Crawford; Camdyn Owen, Italy

Outside Hitters: Aubrie Kabisch, Nocona; Katelin Sullivan, Flatonia; Haylee Vacek, Schulenburg

Setter: Ainsley Anderson, Crawford

Libero/Defensive Specialist: Ava Bessette, Iola

HONORABLE MENTION

Middle Blockers: Darriyah Thomas, Omaha Pewitt; Ary’anna Mealing, Forsan; Reagan Dusek, Schulenburg; Christian Geary, Sterling City; Cadence Money, North Hopkins; Saylor Smith, Como-Pickton; Maud Poortvliet, Como-Pickton; Harlee Sevcik, Shiner; Kamiah Birmingham, Linden-Kildare; Whitney Arledge, Hamilton

Outside Hitters: Preslee Kittrell, Midred; Ella Connell, Crawford; Lily Bailey, Hawley; Kati Calvillo, Como-Pickton; Kaitlyn Jenkins, Rosebud-Lott; Camdyn Benton, Riesel; Greenli VanZandt, Schulanburg; Charlee Wolf, Windthorst; Anna Claire Cooper, Hamilton

Setters: Claytie Free, Leon; Eden Lewis, North Hopkins; Vada Kendall, North Hopkins; Mhia Garcia, Como-Pickton; Carli Tuttle, Beckville

Libero/Defensive Specialist: Kylynn Ramirez, Shiner; Karissa Fillingim, Windthorst; Avery Futrell, Leon; Tatum Thompson, North Hopkins; Journey Brumley, Como-Pickton; Kaidance Goldbolt, North Hopkins; Aubree Kleinhans, Nocona; Emery Parrott, Hamilton

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