#CoverTheAthlete shows what it would look like if professional male athletes were asked some of the same, real questions, professional female athletes have been asked by the media.

The film shows footage of professional male athletes like Sidney Crosby, Michael Phelps, Nicolas Mahut and Wayne Rooney looking perplexed and dumbfounded as they respond to questions and commentary like “You’re getting a lot of fans, a lot of them are female and they want to know if you could date anyone who would it be?” or “How has your recent weight gain effected your mobility?”.

The film then cuts to a super that reads “Male sports coverage doesn’t sound like this. How come female coverage does?”

Women have never been treated like equals in the world of sports. Statistics show that male athletes get $179 million more in athletic scholarships each year than females do.

This financial discrepancy reflects the unfortunate long-held cultural perception that female sports are not as important, or as relevant, as sports played by men.

A USC study conducted in 2015 noted that network coverage of female sports in North America only account for 3.2% of air time which is actually down from 5% in 1989.

Further, when female professional sports are covered it’s all too often filled with sexist commentary, inappropriate interview questions, and articles commenting on physical appearance. This coverage not only trivializes a woman’s accomplishments, but also sends a message that a woman’s value is based on her looks, not her athletic ability.