‘Utterly ridiculous’ misogynistic harassment of women curlers must end, says sports federation

Despite their athletic achievements, women curlers continue to be the target of vicious online harassment off the ice.

Members of Curling Canada are speaking out after hateful comments towards women athletes.

“When we’re criticized for the gender that we are, it can be challenging,” said Jill Officer, a 2014 Olympic gold medallist in curling and six-time Scotties Champion.

“We as female curlers are criticized for doing the exact same thing that our male counterparts do. Whether it’s tattoos, or how we scream, or the intensity we have on the ice. It’s all the same and we’re all trying to achieve the same thing.”

Al Cameron, the director of communication at Curling Canada, says the types of messages he receives about women curlers are disappointing to read.

“‘Can’t you get them to stop yelling, can’t you get them to stop screaming,’” said Cameron. “It’s just ridiculous, it’s just utterly ridiculous.”

Six days into the Brier and not a single emailed fan complaint about players screaming too loud. Truly wish I could say the same during the Scotties. But, of course, I can't. It's International Women's Day, and you should read this column about why that crap needs to stop. pic.twitter.com/7IqsSYGTbA

— Al Cameron (@AlCameronCC) March 8, 2023

On International Women’s Day, Cameron reposted a column he wrote about the double standards women face in sports. He says during the Canadian men’s curling championship, he hasn’t received a single email complaining about the male athletes.

“And why is there such a double standard?” he said. “Are you suggesting that women shouldn’t yell, shouldn’t be competitive, shouldn’t show their emotions on the ice? Why is that? You clearly don’t have an issue when a man does it.”

In one example of an extremely offensive email sent to Curling Canada, the individual says it’s partly the media’s fault for portraying women the way they do.

“Every major media outlet regularly features a female curler bent over delivering a rock or giving instruction with her mouth wide open. These are very provocative images that are often featured in the pornography realm,” the viewer wrote.

“I was gobsmacked to be honest,” Cameron recalled when reading that particular email. “It makes me want to phone his local police department and say you should keep an eye on this person.”

Officer, who’s also part of the mental health taskforce with Curling Canada, says they’ve taken steps to ensure their athletes get the right type of help when dealing with online harassment.

“We created resources and a hub, somewhere to go for athletes when they are struggling and when they need help and how they can access resources and who they can call and who they can contact,” she said.

Despite their efforts, both Officer and Cameron say there’s still a long way to go until women in sports don’t have to face online harassment and are treated with as much respect as their male counterparts.

“It’s sad and all we can do is keep reminding people through ways we’ve been doing this week and bringing it to light through this column, just to remind people, it’s real and it’s gross,” Cameron said.