CBA Record April-May 2018

ONLINE HARASSMENT OF WOMEN IN SPORTS MEDIA Julie DeCaro Addresses Members at March Signature Series

Accept Client Credit Cards through LawPay Recommended by 46 state and local bar associa- tions, LawPay is proud to be the preferred payment partner of more than 35,000 law firms. LawPay provides attorneys with a simple, secure, and online way to accept credit cards in their practice. LawPay understands the unique compliance and financial requirements placed on attorneys.The LawPay platform was designed specifically to correctly separate earned and unearned pay- ments, giving you peace of mind that your credit card transactions are always handled correctly. CBAmembers who sign up for a LawPay account will get their first 3 months free. To learn more or to get started, visit lawpay.com/cba/ or call 866/376-0950. DiCaro is currently an on-air host and contributor at Chicago sports talk radio station, 670 The Score, and a columnist for CBSChicago.com. She frequently writes and reports about women’s issues in sports, including cases of athletes accused of sexual assault and domestic violence, as well as the continuing prevalence of sexism in sports media. By William A. Zolla Editorial Board Member A s part of Women’s History Month, the CBA recently invited local radio host and sports columnist Julie DiCaro to speak to members about the significant hurdles that women con- tinue to face in the field of sports media, which is still largely dominated by men at all levels. Among the most serious prob- lems commonly experienced by female sports reporters and broadcasters are sexual harassment and online harassment, which often includes disturbing, sexualized, threats of violence.

CBABoardMember E. LynnGrayson greets JulieDeCaro at theMarch 21 Signature Series Event. Photo by Sally Daly.

After graduating from Indiana Univer- sity, DiCaro attended law school at DePaul, and practiced law for over a decade, includ- ing work as a public defender. DiCaro believes that her legal skills have greatly helped her as a sports writer and reporter, and encouraged other lawyers to weigh in on topical issues involving sports and law, since much of the public often lacks a complete understanding about how the legal system works. The highlight of DiCaro’s appearance was her presentation of a powerful video that she created with ESPN sportscaster Sarah Spain, about the online abuse faced by women in sports media. The video, #MoreThanMean, which has been viewed

by millions on You Tube and elsewhere, features a series of men reading for the first time a sampling of the offensive, misogy- nistic, and frequently threatening messages that DiCaro and Spain have received on social media from anonymous listeners and viewers. The men participating in the video react to the disturbing content of the messages they were asked to read with shock, offense, and embarrassment. DiCaro believes that law enforcement has not yet caught up with the problems of online harassment and cyberstalking of women on social media, and she is commit- ted to bringing these issues to the public’s attention.

18 APRIL/MAY 2018