Dear LA Times: Some Reasons Why You Should Not Compare a Horse to a Woman
Ok, so I’m going to let you guys in on a little online media secret right now: We’re, most of us, fucking vampires, only instead of blood, we’re looking for clicks. I know, I know—this comes as no surprise. Everyone knows this already! The audience is smarter than the writers, for the most part, these days. But actually, it’s because the audience tends to be so aware of media-pandering that it’s more and more rare to see such blatant clickbait as what the LA Times resorted to on Twitter this morning.
Following Sports Illustrated‘s announcement that the 2015 Sportsperson of the Year was Serena Williams, who “won 53 of the 56 matches she played this year, including three of the four Grand Slam events, and held the No. 1 spot in the WTA rankings every week,” the LA Times reported on the many SI readers who were unhappy with the decision and thought the award for Sportsperson should go to… a horse. Oh, it’s not just any horse, it’s triple crown winner American Pharaoh. But, you know, it’s still a horse. I’m not going to even deign to make the many, many arguments that could be made in favor of Serena’s victory here because it’s as beneath me to do as it would be for you to read.
And, in fact, the LA Times reported on the story fairly enough, coming down on the only possible side that there would be to come down on (although throwing in an egregious, pandering poll at the bottom of the piece), but the paper also sent out one of the grossest tweets in recent memory designed to do nothing more than get clicks at the expense of the dignity and humanity of one of the most talented sports icons in history by comparing her to a horse.
Do better, LA Times. This is fucking ridiculous.