Melissa Ludtke, Narrated by Alex Coffey
Alex Coffey is a second-generation sportswriter known for her work for The Athletic and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Her stories were included in The Year’s Best Sports Writing in 2023 and 2024. Coffey tells how sportswriter Melissa Ludtke's 1977 lawsuit won female journalists equal access to locker rooms and expanded opportunities for women in sports media.
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Notes
Unless otherwise noted, all images used in this video are in the public domain.
Melissa Ludtke at New York Historical Society by CmdrDan is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Reggie Jackson NY Yankees 1979 by Jim Accordino. CC BY 2.0.
All the work that has gone in to producing each one of these 250 to 250 pieces is incredibly important. Not only am I learning so much about our country's history, but often the segments make me reflect - on how there have always been struggles between right and wrong, between morality and greed, between humanity and power, and on how much of the right, morality and humanity is under threat right now.
Three Cheers for women like Melissa Lutdke who called for Women's Rights in those early years, Judge Motley who saw an injustice and corrected it, and Alex Coffey who continues the legacy for women everywhere.