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COMMENTARY
Sports Photography: Objectification and Sexualization of Athletes – And The Role of Athletic Communications Staff To Help Halt This
More diligence is needed in the selection and usage of appropriate student-athlete photos
by Mary Albl – RunnerSpace/DyeStat, Feature Writer @MaryAlbl
and Laura Duffy – MileSplit Illinois, Content Contributor/Photographer @DuffyLens
Laura Duffy is a freelance photographer for MilesplitIL. She has been photographing track and field for seven years and is the parent of a former NCAA Division I student-athlete. She became interested in this topic after expressing concerns over posted photos and the lack of a cohesive policy at athletic events. Mary Albl has been a freelance track and field/running writer for DyeStat.com since 2015. She is passionate about equal coverage in the sport and giving a voice to those who may not be heard — including the coverage of transgender rights. Like Laura, she became interested in this topic and how it affects young females, mental health, and the clear need for a cohesive policy at athletic events.
Scrolling through collegiate social media feeds, the same type of images keep appearing. It’s a picture of a student-athlete in action, clearing a hurdle, vaulting over the bar, spiking a ball, or even just celebrating the achievement of a time or mark. A fast finger swipe may glance over the revealing details of the photo, exposing male and female body parts — a scrotum visible outside of the shorts, buttocks semi uncovered, even shadows/outlines of nipples or a penis.
These images expose, literally, more than the achievement.
The context doesn’t discriminate against gender nor is it sport-specific. Due diligence, in scanning photos for their appropriateness doesn’t always happen, and this is why we are reaching out to those in college athletics, particularly to those in the communications and digital creative roles, and ask that you read this — and pause before posting.
The demand for instant results and institutional self-promotion has a downside.
These types of posted images — which we are seeing across many male and female sports — stirs up controversy over the sexualization of the athlete. In our experience and research, these images can lead to harassment, ridicule, and embarrassment to the individual. It takes a celebratory moment away from both the student-athlete and the institution when an image does not represent their ethical standards or adhere to the code of ethics as outlined by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA).
From the NPPA Code of Ethics:
“We diminish the athletic achievement we are supposed to be honoring. Athletes, on stage for the world to see are owed privacy and decency. Treat all subjects with respect and dignity. Give special consideration to vulnerable subjects and compassion to victims of crime or tragedy. Intrude on private moments of grief only when the public has an overriding and justifiable need to see.”
“The NPPA feels quite strongly that our code of ethics is an industry standard for photojournalists,” said Sean D. Elliot, who is a part of NPPA and has served two terms as the President and chairs the NPPA Ethics Committee. “We would like to think it could also provide a solid basis for application to those individuals involved in sports photography outside of journalism.”
However, when posting an image, whose ethics policy is used to determine what image should be posted and what should not? We have to examine if the images are truly posted accidentally, if the photographer feels the image is necessary to convey the story, or if ethics policies need to be re-written and updated to match the standards of today.
While oftentimes a photographer or athlete may be unaware that a photo could be deemed questionable, it does not mean that others do not interpret the photo to mean something else.
We are looking for the members of CoSIDA, and your colleagues, to have honest conversations about these issues with everyone supplying your photos — credentialed still photographers, digital videographers from your staff, student assistants taking event photos and video for your own social platforms, your own staff members developing graphics and posting on your social media sites and websites.
Who is capturing these images?
Oftentimes those individuals that are involved in sports photography at the collegiate level are not even photography majors. They may not have had discussions over low and wide camera angles shot from below an athlete. Or what shots to avoid during certain points of the performance where legs are open wide or a uniform or body part is most likely to shift.
The photographer may not be aware their placement can mentally impede athletic performance. The sound of a shutter click, the visual distraction of movement, and location of the photographers can also harm an athlete.
There are also media outlets seeking press credentials to cover collegiate events. These could be local newspapers, magazines, or online publications. While every institution does its best to make sure all requests are legitimate, there is no standard available or a checks and balance system. Once a photographer captures these images, the university has no way to know if the images are being posted on personal pages or shared with other publications. Lastly, a university will never know if the photographer abides by the NPPA code of ethics.
So how does an image get placed online?
We know that your staffs, or a student photographer or graduate assistant will attend an event, shoot a collection of photos, and then go through and edits and choose a dozen photos to submit for your communications platforms. The photographer may have done some basic editing to the images. These images are then usually submitted to a folder for an editor or sports information department to publish, or the individual has free reign to post on sites. In some cases, entire graphics are created around an image before it is published, such as for a new school record or significant achievement.
While this scenario most likely is consistent with a newspaper or magazine, it might not be for an online publication. Many images might simply be uploaded without a structured editing process – and we believe this is a major part of the problem. Another issue is the placement of an image on a personal photographer's social media feed.
If photos are being double-checked, how are these images appearing on social media?
Someone has looked at the images and felt that the image met their personal moral and ethical standards or the standard set by the institution. However, at some colleges and universities, the person responsible for taking the photo and/or posting the photo might not be trained or might be a student, and they are mostly trying to post as quick as possible while using their personal moral and ethical standards of reviewing a photo — and not one that the institution has implemented. In many instances, these photos are viewed and edited on a laptop or phone. This can lead to details in the photo being missed as the image is simply too small. Or, deadlines may be too quick that a process is not being followed to ensure the highest quality images are being selected. Or, the editor simply thought the image was necessary for the story.
What can be done?
1. The increased sophistication of cameras and the multiple sources of social media makes the job of selecting photos more crucial. We believe the first step is holding athletic departments accountable. Increased education and recognition is a simple solution. Many photo standards exist in published form. Using those documents to create a unified vision among all athletic departments — perhaps through CoSIDA — would be a great starting point.
2. Educating all event photographers and staff members of the policy and requiring outside media to agree to those standards is also needed. Having those shooting video and still photos must understand the NPAA code of ethics helps ensure that athletes are photographed with the utmost care and respect. Lastly, electronic waivers could be required for all outside media credential requests.
We are asking that athletic departments take an active role in educating those taking photographs, and those who are responsible for editing and posting photographs and video. The onus of censorship cannot fall on a photographer alone. Photographers need to consider if an image is offensive or degrading to the athlete or the audience. Editors need to be aware of the sensitivity of athletic photos and if they are callous or intrusive.
“Bulges, outlines and shadows happen. It’s part of athletics but responsible journalists avoid knowingly publishing anything that might be offensive,” said a Chicago-based photographer who works in the newspaper industry but preferred not to be named.
There also needs to be a process/system in place for when concerns have been raised about an image. Keyboard warriors may be leaving comments on photos that are harassing. The athletes themselves need to be able to report or express concern over an image in a confidential manner. Followup needs to happen on an image once it has been published to make sure none of these concerns are raised.
Ethics Policy
How do we agree on a broad-based value or ethical system? What are the must-haves that we can agree on? Ethics are based on our values of what is right and wrong, and that is the standard we hold ourselves to. Being ethical requires making a moral judgment, and that’s not always easy. The ethical choices we make are out there for public consumption.
‘If I think the photo is both suitable for the story it's attached to, and strong enough of an image to draw the eye of the reader. It'd be my decision about whether or not to publish it, depending on multiple circumstances,” said an undergraduate student photo editor who wished to not be named.
We have read several different organizations' printed policies regarding photographing athletes. A quote that stood out to us was:
“It is the default guideline of the AAU to allow (electronic images) as long as the athlete or athletes are in public view and such imagery is both appropriate and in the best interest of the athlete and the club.” AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) ATHLETE PROTECTION and ABUSE PREVENTION POLICY
The words “appropriate” and “best interest” really stood out to us. We have spent the better part of the last year reviewing images we’ve viewed online and contacted many different media outlets and national sports foundations. The consensus seems to be the same, how an athlete is photographed is an area that is not covered under Safe Sport policies.
What we do know is that student-athletes lose their right to consent while competing for a college or university. Photos can be instantly seen and shared by thousands of people within minutes. There have been several documented stories of athletes and the long-term psychological effects a degrading photo has on them. We need to do better and are calling on the members of CoSIDA to help us all be better.
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