GREENSBORO, N.C. — It's time for 'My 2 Cents.'
I came across an old video on YouTube yesterday. It was from 2016 but it's message was still so relevant. The video is part of a social media campaign called hashtag 'More Than Mean.' It highlights the online attacks toward female professionals.
Five years ago it gained a lot of attention - as it should have. The video is specifically about the words men tweet at female sports reporters. It's an arena that has been dominated by men in the past. There are several professions and fields that men are more prevalent in but women are certainly an important part of - and sometimes, that's reason enough for them to be targeted.
I know I have a personal connection with this story as a woman who is on TV but I'm sure you know plenty of women - people, really - who have put up with similar behavior.
I've talked about people saying mean things online before - but let's just call it what it is, harassment, bullying, abuse.
I'm not going to repeat the tweets in the video, I won't re-type the mean things I've read that people write online because the actual text doesn't matter. It's shocking and it's vile but the point is not what is being said, but that someone is saying it.
Listen, we all have opinions and preferences. You're allowed to not to like how someone does their job but why share that when you know it's going to be hurtful? And when those opinions cross a line, there is no excuse.
Words matter. I'll echo the end of the video - you wouldn't say it to their face, so why type it?