The contest concluded Jan. 12, and surprisingly, CBS sideline reporter Jill Arrington (26 percent of the vote) defeated ABC's Melissa Stark (23 percent). That might be the outrage.
Playboy.com's poll isn't demeaning or insulting because all of the women involved were hired because they are beautiful.
Television sportscasting operates on a double standard. Someone like Stark, who does know her stuff and is a talented reporter, must look like Barbie to get on air while John Madden's gut gets celebrated.
Getting a vote by the Playboy.com poll simply shows that viewers recognize and gravitate to a pretty face, something that television has long betted on to snag higher ratings.
Arrington's victory guarantees CBS that at least one viewer will switch the channel to check out the babe who knows her football.
And while men are ogling Arrington or actually listening to her, CBS's competitors' ratings slip. CBS's go up and so do their advertising rates. The network makes money off of its pretty sideline reporter.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with using sexuality to advance one's self. Arrington declined Playboy's offer to pose nude, but doesn't have to be ashamed that she's attractive.
Despite the disservice that so-called-sportscasters like FOX's Jillian Barberie (a glorified weathergirl) do to the cause of women in sports journalism, talent still wins over beauty.
When ABC cleaned the Monday Night Football house last year, the network gave longtime NFL vet Leslie Visser the boot and gave her job to Stark, who had cultivated a following covering games for ESPN.
