Lindsay Crouse Is Changing The Game For Women's Sports

Jan 23, 2020

Lindsay Crouse, an investigative journalist at The New York Times specializing in women's sports, dives deep into the challenges female athletes face. She discusses the critical themes of fairness, sponsorship issues, and the need for advocacy. Lindsay reflects on her impactful pieces, including the emotional toll of maternity rights and the abuse culture in sports. She emphasizes the importance of elevating women's voices and fostering supportive environments, while calling for systemic changes in sports journalism and athlete representation.

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ANECDOTE

Mary Cain's Story

Mary Cain was America's fastest girl, breaking records and poised for Olympic glory.
After joining Nike's Oregon Project, her coaches pressured her to lose weight, leading to injuries and mental health struggles.

INSIGHT

Overlooked Abuse

Abusive coaching practices in women's sports are often overlooked and normalized.
These practices prioritize short-term gains over long-term athlete well-being, leading to burnout and extinguished potential.

INSIGHT

Nike's Maternity Leave Policy

Nike's lack of maternity leave for sponsored athletes demonstrates a disregard for women's needs.
Athletes like Kara Goucher and Alicia Montano returned to winning medals after pregnancy, despite this lack of support.

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A perfect companion piece to my recent conversation with Lauren Fleshman -- and in furtherance of better understanding the issues that swirl around gender, sport and fairness -- today I sit down with an investigative journalist breaking some of the biggest stories in women's sports.

Meet Lindsay Crouse.

A graduate of Harvard University, where she competed in both cross country and track and field, Lindsay is a senior staff editor and senior OpDocs producer at The New York Times. If you’ve been paying any attention to running news (or just big headlines in general) then you are already familiar with Lindsay’s work. At the epicenter of the conversation that surrounds sports and power, Lindsay is behind some of the biggest sports stories and opinion pieces in recent memory, with a particular focus on the role and state of women's distance running.

Some of Lindsay's most popular pieces include How The 'Shalane Flanagan Effect' Works, which examined the former podcast guest and New York City Marathon victor's elevating impact on other women; she broke the story on Nike's refusal to guarantee female athletes' salaries during or immediately post-pregnancy; and she produced the piece in which Allyson Felix told her story around Nike and pregnancy.

Lindsay also worked with last week’s guest Lauren Fleshman on her powerful November Op-Ed, I Changed My Body For My Sport. No Girl Should and is responsible for the bombshell opinion piece about the emotional abuse suffered by Mary Cain under her former coach, Alberto Salazar. I Was The Fastest Girl in America, Until I Joined Nike created such a stir, it went on to become the 42nd most read New York Times piece for all of 2019.

I first came across Lindsay by way of her recurring cameos in my friend (and RRP guest from episodes 73, 144, & 174) Casey Neistat's wildly popular vlog. So in 2015, I began following Lindsay's career. As I watched her work mature and profile grow, I eagerly awaited each new article -- and anticipated an opportunity to share her experience and insight on the podcast.

Today is that day. And it's everything I hoped it would be.

The ongoing impact of Lindsay's journalism is immeasurable. So it was an absolute honor and a delight to sit down with her.

Note: Because this conversation transpired at the New York Times offices (as opposed to my studio), we did not film the conversation. In addition, it was recorded in mid-October and thus not current with the immediate news cycle.

I can't say enough good things about Lindsay and the work she is doing to advance the role and voice of women in sports. I love this conversation. I sincerely hope you do as well.

Peace + Plants,

Rich