Chicago Tribune Clobbered on Social Media for Sexist Olympic Tweet
The Chicago Tribune faced a social media backlash for a tweet posted yesterday which was quickly denounced by many as being sexist.
Following the Bronze medal triumph of Corey Cogdell, who placed third in the women’s Trapshooting competition, this Tweet appeared on the company account:
Wife of a Bears’ lineman wins a bronze medal today in Rio Olympics https://t.co/kwZoGY0xAX pic.twitter.com/VZrjOvr80h
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) August 7, 2016
Cogdell is indeed married to Chicago Bears defensive end/fullback Mitch Unrein. And obviously, that gives the Tribune a reason to promote a result in an obscure sport they otherwise wouldn’t cover. But the fact that they didn’t even mention Cogdell’s name in the tweet was met with widespread condemnation on Twitter:
Her name is Corey Cogdell-Unrein, not “wife of….” — and she just won her 2nd bronze medal. Welcome to 2016. https://t.co/AlKIXMLpiv
— Connie Schultz (@ConnieSchultz) August 8, 2016
you misspelled Olympian Corey Cogdell https://t.co/VjyU5M3NW5
— Ziwe (@ziwe) August 7, 2016
Corey Cogdell. Her name is Corey Cogdell @chicagotribune. She won an Olympic bronze medal for trap shooting. #sexism https://t.co/ofHPfmDjYl
— Renee Bracey Sherman (@RBraceySherman) August 7, 2016
Try using her name? COREY COGDELL. You’re welcome. Time to end the #sexism, @chicagotribune. https://t.co/mA8skyIpb9
— Coquita (@ambermcolon) August 8, 2016
Husband of Olympic medal winner Corey Cogdell plays football for the Chicago Bears #FixedIt #Sexism https://t.co/HPlYjH4CYD
— It’s All Bad (@SaltPotatoes) August 8, 2016
Dear @chicagotribune, your headline is broken (aka horribly sexist). How about: “Corey Cogdell wins Olympic bronze!” https://t.co/s3AApB03GH
— Ani Louise (@Ani_Lou) August 8, 2016
embarrassing, sexist headline from @chicagotribune. Huge congrats to Corey Cogdell!!!!! #name https://t.co/TcOacO0lOu
— Kathleen Theisen (@TheisenKathleen) August 8, 2016
Her name is Corey Cogdell, Chicago Tribune. She earned it regardless of her husband. Terrible wording. https://t.co/QCzUllUWuS
— Rebecca Lake (@rebeccalakedc) August 7, 2016
This is Corey Cogdell, and everyone at the Tribune who let this headline happen should be fired into the sun. https://t.co/mNLwe7vheu
— cataplexis (@cataplexis) August 7, 2016
.@chicagotribune, I’ve detailed why your article purportedly on Corey Cogdell-Unrein is sexist and reprehensible: https://t.co/OVNhKkSBFr
— Rachel Vorona Cote (@RVoronaCote) August 8, 2016
COREY COGDELL, @chicagotribune. Congrats on the most sexist headline I’ve read in a long time.https://t.co/TLQVycHHz8
— Hiatus (@JadisNoir) August 7, 2016
Oh, Chicago Tribune.
HER name is Corey Cogdell. https://t.co/O8vTpWGPim
— Donna Ditota (@DonnaDitota1) August 8, 2016
Huge eye-roll to the Chicago Tribune. She isn’t just “wife of…” She is a human named Corey Cogdell-Unrein. https://t.co/zivW7NLkDY
— Grace Mawhorter (@gacmawhorter) August 8, 2016
Either "being a wife" is now an Olympic sport, or Tribune should tweet Corey Cogdell-Unrein is a shooting medallist https://t.co/K3WXkf3F9A
— Kaya Burgess (@kayaburgess) August 7, 2016
The Trib has clearly taken note of the backlash, as they wrote a follow-up article focused more fully on Cogdell. In addition, they tweeted this:
Here’s more about three-time U.S. Olympian Corey Cogdell-Unrein and her bronze medal performance in Rio https://t.co/pUg22itmlb
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) August 8, 2016
[image via screengrab]
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