Clubs, journalists and football personalities are posting messages in support of journalist Renata Mendonça. THE Sporting News explains what happened to the Grupo Globo commentator.
On Tuesday (23/12), the president of Flamengo, Luiz Eduardo Baptista, attacked the TV Globo journalist when talking about the club’s women’s football. The statement was made in a meeting broadcast on Flamengo TV about the balance of the first year of the Bap administration.
—What are the facts? Growing audience. Does it compare with men’s football? No, but it cannot be that difference. TV keeps the profits from the marketing package and does not distribute it to the clubs. There’s the big-nosed Globo guy who keeps talking bad about us and everything, about football, which doesn’t encourage… it makes you want to say: ‘Daughter, convince your company to put 10 million, 20 million a year into broadcasting rights and things will get better. The dick that hits João has to hit Maria too — said BAP, president of Flamengo.
Flamengo reduced investments in women’s football. In the second semester, the club announced the reallocation of funds to other sectors.
In October this year, journalist Renata Mendonça, together with the Dibradoras portal, published a video about the training structure of the Flamengo women’s football team. The video went viral and shocked the internet after revealing the precarious conditions faced by the players. Furthermore, the disparity with which the modalities are treated is visible.
“ge.globo” brought Globo’s note about the Flamengo president’s speech at a ceremony in the Salão Nobre da Gávea.
— Globo repudiates the Flamengo director’s gratuitous and misogynistic attack on one of its professionals and reiterates its deep respect for women and critical opinions that do not offend or insult anyone — he wrote.
In addition to the broadcaster, the Dibradoras portal, important in the fight for improvements in women’s football, also spoke out about the sexism of the Flamengo president.
— BAP’s speech does not just affect one journalist, but all women who work in the sports world and who continue to face attempts at intimidation and disqualification — he stated.
— From institutional leaders and representatives, responsibility, respect and understanding of the weight of their words are expected. Machismo is not an opinion, it is not criticism and cannot be normalized — he adds.
Renata is the co-founder of the Dibradoras portal, which since 2015 has sought to give more visibility and voice to women in sport, and is also a sports columnist for the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. During her career, the journalist has worked for ESPN Brasil and the BBC. She has commented on games on TV Globo for five years.
