A new image?

Back in 1973 Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in the famous "Battle of the Sexes" tennis matchup in Houston, Texas. Despite rumors of match-fixing that later proved not to be true, it was a major stepping stone in women's sports gaining the respect of the largely-dominated male audience. So the next few decades saw a rise in the ranks of women's tennis, golf, basketball, and more recently, soccer as the U.S. Women's team won their now-record third World Cup championship earlier this month.

Although those accolades have received their proper mention in the sports pages, there is still this been this perception that "oh, it's just a women's sport, it still doesn't carry as much weight as the men." Many subscribers of that viewpoint mention the ratings and dollars that the men's sports bring in, but that underscores the underlying point that over the past few years we have seen women athletes make such great strides that now the question has become, "Can a woman succeed in a men's sport?"

That question has been answered in the form of San Antonio Spurs' assistant coach Becky Hammon, who has led their NBA Summer League team to the championship game. Hammon, 38, has been compared by Coach Gregg Popovich as another coach in the mold of former assistant coaches Steve Kerr and Mike Budenholzer, the former just winning the NBA title in his first year and the latter winning the NBA Coach of the Year. Hammon has overcome a lot to get to the this point, and the snide comments that were spoken on social media blogs have now given way to the belief that she will be an NBA coach one day. It was her grit and determination that has placed her in this position to make history, and this may be the genesis of a revolution in the once-unbreakable glass ceiling in men's professional sports.

Recently Serena Williams just won her 21st Grand Slam championship at Wimbledon, one behind Steffi Graf and more Grand Slams than all active women combined. However, the story afterwards was not about her amazing accomplishments on the court, it was about her appearance off of it. Which begs the question: why is it that in 2015 society still continues to hold women to a standard that it's not about wins and losses, but it's as long as they fit their standard of outer beauty?

Whether it's the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, or the countless appearances of women athletes in modeling shoots, there has always been this perception that as long as they look good, nothing else matters? When Caroline Wozniacki showed up to play Williams in 2012 wearing tissue underneath her clothing to mock her body structure? Is it still that we give women a pass on their success or lack thereof just so as long as they fit the media viewpoint? Sports can be a microcosm for how we treat others in our daily views of society. Comments like the ones directed at Williams shows that we as fans have a way to go.

So the next time you look at a Ronda Rousey dismantle an opponent in 14 seconds or Williams win another Grand Slam, will the conversation still be "she's ok for a girl"? The time has come for the image to be one of success, not of physical glamour...