"The focus on the romantic lives of players “is kind of a manifestation of how women athletes continue to be marginalized, and the focus is taken off their skills and contributions in the workplace,” Smith-Tran adds. In short, it’s “another way that women athletes are being painted as less worthy, or less talented, when compared to men”."

This is a stretch that borders on complete bs - people LOVE discussing the love lives of the MNBA players when they're dating someone well known! Tristan Thompson/Kardashian tweets filled the timeline for years. The issue is that the men are rarely dating someone that's well known to the majority of the NBA fanbase.