The idea for this newsletter came on the heels of a situation I’d run into more times than I can count: a man weaponizing bro code and sports talk to take my place and win favor. In this case, it was with a client I’ve been working with since 2019.

I was told straight up by a manager within the company that this individual, “was hired because he can talk sports with the owner.”

Not that he was qualified or good for the job…but that he could shoot the sh*t with the boss. Huh? Is that all it takes these days? 🤔

Yeah, the whole thing didn’t sit right with me.

Now, I’ll admit that as a woman with a Master’s in Sports Journalism, my sports-coverage career has been anything but conventional. I haven’t covered a live event or been in a post-game press conference since 2018. And for the past 6 years, I’ve been navigating the entrepreneurial road, running a small social media marketing agency.

But this brand new instance lit a fire 🔥 in me. I forgot what it felt like to have such blatant machoism be a reality, and it made me pause and think: “How many other women in the corporate world get looked over, brushed off, or even pushed aside by men because they can’t ‘talk sports’ with the owner/boss/manager/male colleagues?”

Probably more than we’d like to acknowledge…

So, the idea for Her Sports Desk was born. I knew that if I (someone who has covered some of the biggest sporting events in history and have been in the vicinity of some of the biggest names that most male sports fans obsess over) was feeling this frustrated and disgusted, then I can only imagine how other women who don’t know nearly was much about sports feel on a daily basis.

Because, while I can certainly hold my own in a conversation, I’m sure many of you

Or maybe you’re motivated to deepen your knowledge so you school the guys at the office the next time they try to talk over your head.

No matter your reason, I hope Her Sports Desk becomes your favorite place to get a rundown of the biggest sports headlines, rivalries, historical bits, fantasy league moves, pop culture, and more. If you read each issue and walk away knowing a little more than you did the day before, my job here will be complete!

So, what do you say? Ready to burst their little boy’s club bubble and show’em you know your stuff? LET’S GET STARTED!!

– jen

Top headlines in today’s memo:

PS: Not every intro will be this long, PROMISE!

The National Football League (NFL) regular season kicked off on Thursday, Sept. 4, between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles, and it was DRAMATIC!

Just six seconds into the game, Eagles fullback Ben VanSumeren suffered a torn patella tendon on the kickoff return. Then, before the first snap of the game, Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter SPIT on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, resulting in Carter’s ejection from the game.

Carter, a pivotal component to the Eagles’ defense, took full ownership of his behavior in the post-game press conferences, while Prescott shared his take on the events that led up to the ‘Spit-Gate’ incident. Luckily, the Eagles were able to adjust to Carter’s absence and went on to win 24-20, following an hour-long lightening delay in Philadelphia.

It looks like there’s a little bit of bad blood 🩸 between the NFL’s oldest player and his former team.

Following Sunday’s 34-32 win over the New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (41) taunted Jets fans as he walked off the field. And in the post-game press conference, Rodgers expressed his feelings about his exit from the Jets at the end of last season.

A timeline on the beef…

It looks like Rodgers enjoyed dishing out that FK U. 😂 #SoDramatic

If you’re new to being a sports fan, particularly a baseball fan, there are two rules:

But not everyone likes to play nice.

On Friday night, during the Philadelphia Phillies/Miami Marlins game, the woman above (now dubbed “Phillies Karen”) demanded that a young Phillies fan give her the home run ball that landed in her section of the stands.

In videos circulating online, you can see fans in the upper deck of loanDepot Park scrambling for the ball, a solo HR by Phillies center fielder Harrison Bader. The dad of the young fan walked away with the prize, but was quickly chased down by the woman, who screamed at him until they handed over the ball.

The Marlins organization quickly stepped in, gifting the young Phillies fan a bag of merch and baseballs before the game ended. Bader also caught wind of the incident and met up with the family after the game to give the boy a signed bat.

HA! TAKE THAT PHILLIES KAREN!

I just love it when a team turns a terrible experience into a positive one! Great job by both teams for making up for a bad fan’s behavior.

Moral of the story? Don’t be a Phillies Karen!

Arch Manning, son of Cooper Manning, nephew to NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning, and grandson to NFL royalty Archie Manning, is now the star quarterback for the Texas Longhorns.

After a dismal performance against the Ohio State University in week 1, the young Manning appeared to have bounced back in Saturday’s 38-7 win over San Jose State (don’t get too excited, SJS is kind of a nobody, and this should have been an easy win regardless).

Why give a sh*t?

All eyes have been on Arch Manning since his high school days and the moment he committed to Texas. Carrying the Manning legacy, people are expecting great things out of him, with many Texas fans claiming he’ll take them to a National Championship.

Thanks to the NIL (Name, Image, & Likeness legal concept…we’ll get into that at a later date), Arch Manning also has the highest valuation of any college athlete, sitting pretty at $6.8 million. And technically, he’d be NLF draft eligible April 2026.

So, there’s a lot ridding on this kid’s shoulders and we’ll see how the rest of the season plays out. TBH, the Texas schedule is pretty weak this year, so I’m not quite sure how challenged the young QB will be this year. I suppose time will tell.

Get more trade advice ahead of Week 2.

Pockets are fun! We love having them in our bags, our dresses, our pants, and just about anywhere else we might need them. But on the football field, the POCKET refers to the protective bubble the offensive linemen create around the quarterback during a passing play.