Has Women’s Sports Fandom Gone Too Far?

March 31, 2025

The last few years have seen an explosion in viewership for women’s sports. This has been great for athletes who have long toiled in near-obscurity and are finally receiving the recognition and (slowly) the compensation they deserve. However, with that increased visibility come serious risks for the athletes.

As the audience for women’s sports has grown, it has happened across gender lines, and in the last six months alone, a large number of female athletes have reported being stalked by male fans.

Women athletes are, in many ways, uniquely suited to being on the receiving end of parasocial relationships with fans. Because women’s sports have historically had a far smaller audience, the athletes have been much more accessible—whether chatting with their followers on social media or taking photos and chatting after a game. This has created a level of familiarity with the athletes that is harder to achieve with players in men’s sports. Vogue