Read article here

First off, I go to ESPN purely for sports coverage. So when I saw an ESPN article trending on Facebook that highlights Sheryl Sandberg's #LeanIn feminist campaign, I was a bit surprised.

I clicked on the article and it turned out to be a summary of an interview with Sandberg (who is the COO of Facebook) and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. The first two lines made me cringe:

"Adam Silver sat forward in his chair and felt a little uncomfortable being placed a few feet in front of Facebook COO and Lean In founder Sheryl Sandberg...The seat placement was just a result of staging and lighting concerns, not preferential treatment, but Silver wanted to make sure.

I didn't realize that sexist interviewers often place men's seats a few feet in front of women's. I guess we'll have to add that to the list of sexist behaviors next to Mansplaining and Manspreading.

But seriously, this point makes no sense. Did Silver actually believe he might be receiving preferential treatment during an interview about feminism? My guess is that this introduction was completely fabricated, but I digress.

The article continues,

In the first year of the #LeanInTogether partnership, the goal was simply to make the point to men that they benefit from leaning in to support the women in their lives.

"Men benefit from supporting women" is one of the most generic statements I've ever heard. What does that even mean? Why do I have to be told to support my daughter or wife? Doesn't the utter simplicity of this statement subtly suggest that men aren't doing enough? It's like saying to someone, "Hey you'd really benefit from eating healthy foods" while smiling and pretending to be nice. Just altogether weird vibes.

Here's my favorite part of the piece:

"There are incredible examples," said Sandberg, who also serves on the board of the Walt Disney Company, which owns ESPN. "You've got Chris Bosh, star NBA player, talking about how he prioritizes helping at home...

So they admit in the article that Sandberg (founder of the #LeanIn campaign) serves on the board of ESPN's parent company. Is ESPN really partnering with the LeanIn organization, then, or they taking orders from on high that they have to support this stuff?

This is a pretty short article, guys, and the strangeness just continues. The author quotes Becky Hammon, the Spurs female assistant coach, as saying:

"I'm not here unless coach Pop sees me [as] genderless..."

Yes, we all know that the goal of feminism and Globalism is to blur the lines between male and female and introduce the idea that "gender is just a social construct." You usually don't see it spelled out this blatantly, but I guess in 2016 being 'genderless' is a good thing.

Then we have a truly cringe-worthy moment in the interview video clip at the top of the article. At 0:50 seconds in, Sandberg says:

"LeanIn together is about helping men understand that equality is not just for women; it benefits them...When men are active partners at home they have stronger marriages, more sex...[Silver interrupts]

Silver then awkwardly starts laughing and says, "this is ESPN!" The whole interview has a weird feel to it; their lines seem completely rehearsed. Not to mention that telling men to help around the house in order to improve their sex lives is totally out of place on a sports network.

This segment is also wildly condescending: "LeanIn is about helping men understand..." yes, Sheryl Sandberg, please lecture me from your high horse about what I don't understand. Give me a break.

Add in the fact that ESPN is producing a video series of its stars advertising LeanIn, and it's hard not to see this as straight up propaganda ordered by the network's owners (they basically admit as much in the article.) Obviously, this has nothing to do with sports and is trying to influence the cultural narrative in a weird, guilt-tripping manner that tries to blame men without really saying anything.