Sportscasting has traditionally been given to the public from men. One women made it a point to change that.
Photo Credit: (left)http://www.chastaincentral.com/content/jane.; (right) https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images
Chastain, a more recent photo on the left and a photo of her in 1970 on the right, broke major barriers. She was the first women allowed on a major league baseball playing field and in the NASCAR pits.
These accomplishments did not come easy for Chastain. She had to overcome many obstacles one big one being the locker rooms. It got so ugly for her that she began to stand outside of the locker rooms and specifically ask for players. In the beginning, they did not respect her, once they realized she knew what she was talking about and could write a good story the players complied.
Chastain also struggled with, not only not being accepted by males but, not being accepted by females. At one point, she said she was embarrassed of her gender. Chastain could not believe that women thought she was out of place for fighting for what she wanted and believed in. On the other hand, she opened the door for other aspiring women in sportscasting like Donna De Varona, Jeannie Morris, and Phyllis George.
Chastain opened so many doors and started a revolution for women around the country to never stop fighting for what you think is right. She is the reason women are in the industry today and hopefully it only becomes even more fair when it comes to gender and sportscasting.
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