MovieChat Forums > American Ninja Warrior (2009) Discussion > Wildcards: Blatant sexism

Wildcards: Blatant sexism

posted 8 years ago by darkavenger77
22 replies | jump to latest

I asked the question in another thread, so I looked them up:
http://www.americanninjawarriornation.com/2016/8/8/12403154/american-ninja-warrior-season-8-wild-cards
There are a total of 15 wildcards listed. All are females. Most did not make it to the city finals. This is not the first time lower-performing females were selected over better-performing males.

This is unfair to those that performed better, such as those that made it to the city finals but did not finish in the top 15. Gender gap? You bet, just not what some people say it is. It also devalues the true female athletes like Jessie Graff and Jesse Labreck.

Below are the wildcards and their results. 67 men were affected by this PC garbage. I'd suggest changing the name of the show to American Social Justice Warrior.

Los Angeles 14 men were affected.
1) Tory Garcia- Did not make it to city finals. 14 men made it to the city finals but did not make the top 15, none were given a wildcard.
2) Tiana Webberley- Did not make it to city finals. 14 men made it to the city finals but did not make the top 15, none were given a wildcard.
3) Natalie Duran- Qualified #19 of 30, and #27 of 30 in city final. 11 men performed better and were not picked for a wildcard.

Atlanta 15 men were affected.
4) Erica Cook- Did not make it to city finals. 15 men made it to the city finals but did not make the top 15, none were given a wildcard.
5) Brittany Reid- Did not make it to city finals. 15 men made it to the city finals but did not make the top 15, none were given a wildcard.

Indianapolis 15 men were affected.
6) Kristi Pratt- Did not make it to city finals. 15 men made it to the city finals but did not make the top 15, none were given a wildcard.
7) Michaela Kiersch- Did not make it to city finals. 15 men made it to the city finals but did not make the top 15, none were given a wildcard.
8) Jeri D’Aurelio- Did not make it to city finals. 15 men made it to the city finals but did not make the top 15, none were given a wildcard.

Oklahoma City 15 men were affected.
9) Cassie Craig- Did not make it to city finals. 15 men made it to the city finals but did not make the top 15, none were given a wildcard.
10) Kacy Catanzaro- Did not make it to city finals. 15 men made it to the city finals but did not make the top 15, none were given a wildcard.
11) Asya Grechka- Did not make it to city finals. 15 men made it to the city finals but did not make the top 15, none were given a wildcard.
12) Rose Wetzel- Did not make it to city finals. 15 men made it to the city finals but did not make the top 15, none were given a wildcard.

Philadelphia 8 men were affected.
13) Allyssa Beird- Finished last on qualifier, and #23 of 30 in city finals. 6 men performed better and were not picked for a wildcard.
14) Michelle Warnky- Finished #17 on qualifier, and #19 of 30 in city finals. 3 men performed better and were not picked for a wildcard.
15) Rachael Goldstein- Finished #29 on qualifier, and #26 of 30 in city finals. 8 men performed better and were not picked for a wildcard.

Ignoring politics doesn't mean politics will ignore you.
-Pericles paraphrased in <100 characters

[–] hardly-replies 8 years ago

This would not have happened if more of us would have gone to see ghostbusters. ?

[–] whosaysnightsareforsleep 8 years ago

i don't think wild cards should necessarily go the next top finishers in city finals (because then they could just take the top 20 and not even deal with wild cards), but i also don't think anyone who doesn't make city finals should be eligible. wild card spots should be reserved for people who have proven themselves in the past, but went out way earlier in city finals because they had some sort of off night. as a woman, i hate that they just being 15 woman who didn't qualify along. it wastes spots in vegas and almost has a reverse sexism thing going on. like "we know you of the fairer sex can't do this on your own so we will help you." the jessies proved women can get there and don't need wild card spots that aren't deserved.

[–] darkavenger77 8 years ago

I don't think wild cards should necessarily go the next top finishers in city finals (because then they could just take the top 20 and not even deal with wild cards), but i also don't think anyone who doesn't make city finals should be eligible. Wild card spots should be reserved for people who have proven themselves in the past, but went out way earlier in city finals because they had some sort of off night.

I look at is as this is a competition. If you do better than someone else, you should advance. Something else that occurred to me is that by denying those that did significantly better a chance to advance, they were denied a chance for:
1) Opportunities such as endorsements, and
2) The overall prize of $1 million.

Since a significant amount of money is at stake, I would not be surprised to see some lawsuits pop up. The show has now demonstrated a continuing pattern of discrimination, which would reinforce any such suit. Gender bias must be eliminated both ways or it is meaningless to protest it from one side or the other.

I'm sure there is some type of contract disclaimer related to this, but it is still wrong. If it had been done on a racial basis, there would likely have been protests in Vegas and elsewhere.

As a woman, I hate that they just being 15 woman who didn't qualify (advanced) along. It wastes spots in Vegas and almost has a reverse sexism thing going on. Like "We know you of the fairer sex can't do this on your own so we will help you." The Jessies proved women can get there and don't need wild card spots that aren't deserved.

Exactly. The free passes take away from the legitimate performances of those that properly advanced. It's not reverse discrimination, it is simply discrimination w/o any merit.

Ignoring politics doesn't mean politics will ignore you.
-Pericles paraphrased in <100 characters

[–] doktorf 8 years ago

I don't think the producers of the American show have quite made the mental leap from "Reality show" to "Sport". They are not quite confident enough to just let the chips fall where they may. They still want to manipulate results in the name of entertainment. We are kind of in a pro wrestling place with ANW at the moment. Maybe what ANW needs is a serious competitor.

[–] federer91 8 years ago

Nah, for me the best is not have any wildcards, but if you have to, better give them to women. There are hardly any women qualifying, so better have a few, than none. Plus if they are not as good as Jessie, Labreck or Martin, they will probably be in the recap package.

I would be more angry if they give wildcards to some men, because that would show production favouritism for some of them. All men have equal playing field and if they make mistakes and don't make it to the finals, they should be out. If one of their golden chickens like Bull, Arnold or other veterans fail on a city course, they most probably will get wildcard, which would be unfair to other men that have done just as good, but have no big history or are not that memorable. No wildcards for men is fairer for me, and those who are top 15, should really deserve it and not rely on production pushing them further if they made mistakes.

[–] KCCharles 8 years ago

Agreed.

Women bring ratings and this is an entertainment show. There are more buzz, more tweets and more news articles on the women on the show, than the men.

The Producers can choose anyone they want, at least with the women they can say the chose the best females from each city. As federer91 said, what would be there criteria for choosing the men that does not look like favoritism?

[–] WandererFromYs 8 years ago

Agreed.

Women bring ratings and this is an entertainment show. There are more buzz, more tweets and more news articles on the women on the show, than the men.

The Producers can choose anyone they want, at least with the women they can say the chose the best females from each city. As federer91 said, what would be there criteria for choosing the men that does not look like favoritism?

Successful women may bring ratings, women that are not legit do not. We don't need to see them get a second shot when they can't complete more than 1 obstacle, and as I said they are being edited off of the show.

I don't get how chosing men shows favortism. There hasn't been a single man chosen in the last 2 years. That's 25 wild cards with 0 going to men. The favortism is going the other way. Kacy gets a free pass for life. Lorin Ball, Treymane Dorch, David Campbell, don't mess up.

[–] KCCharles 8 years ago

To clarify, how would the Producers choose which guy gets the wild card? What criteria would they use to select the 15 people?

- Good but messed up (veteran): Lance Pekus, Tremayne Dortch, David Campbell, Lorin Ball, JJ Woods or Abel Gonsalves (and probably so many others)

- Good but messed up (newbie): Caleb Watson (and probably so many others)

- Heartfelt story or effort: Michael Stanger, Artis Thompson III, or the other 1 legged man (and probably so many others)

Because, whoever they give it to would show favoritism from the Producers.

[–] WandererFromYs 8 years ago

Nah, for me the best is not have any wildcards, but if you have to, better give them to women. There are hardly any women qualifying, so better have a few, than none. Plus if they are not as good as Jessie, Labreck or Martin, they will probably be in the recap package.

How is it better to send a bunch of women to Vegas when they have no chance to finish? They aren't even showing their runs because they have all gone out early. How is this good for anyone.

I would be more angry if they give wildcards to some men, because that would show production favouritism for some of them. All men have equal playing field and if they make mistakes and don't make it to the finals, they should be out. If one of their golden chickens like Bull, Arnold or other veterans fail on a city course, they most probably will get wildcard, which would be unfair to other men that have done just as good, but have no big history or are not that memorable. No wildcards for men is fairer for me, and those who are top 15, should really deserve it and not rely on production pushing them further if they made mistakes.

As opposed to to showing production favortism towards the women, which they are doing. Most of these women only completed 1 or 2 obstacles, and the playing field is equal for everyone.

They obviously would not give a wild card to one of their golden chickens. This is 2 straight years of all women wild cards, and that should be the point of wild cards. To give the people with some potential who messed up a second chance.

[–] eel2178 8 years ago

Note- Lori Adams was shown as qualifying #15 of 30 and then was #28 of 30 in the city finals. She was not offered a wildcard spot.

If I remember right, Lori Adams was a guy.

[–] darkavenger77 8 years ago

If I remember right, Lori Adams was a guy.

Oops! Shades of Jake, from State Farm on my part! 

Found his video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKckQOt3c1U

Thanks for the correction.

Ignoring politics doesn't mean politics will ignore you.
-Pericles paraphrased in <100 characters

[–] Haaken78 8 years ago

I'm OK with all female wildcards. I think it's done for ratings purposes more than social justice purposes. It's fun seeing the best women compete, just like it's fun seeing the top men compete. The important thing is that everyone runs the same course.

[–] darkavenger77 8 years ago

The important thing is that everyone runs the same course.

IMO, that is the problem. The women have not had nearly the number of successful applicants (just to get on the show, much less pass the qualifiers), so it would be appropriate to have a women's league and a men's league. If attracting viewers is indeed the goal- and it likely is- this should have the desired result. It could be done with no more programming time. Cut out all of the backstories, and show all the competitors. Give an hour to the women and an hour to the men.

Outstanding female athletes like Labreck and Graff could compete on the men's course if they desired, but there would be no favoritism as is currently the case.

Ignoring politics doesn't mean politics will ignore you.
-Pericles paraphrased in <100 characters

[–] Haaken78 8 years ago

I have to admit it was pathetic that almost none of the ladies could even reach the propeller.

[–] doktorf 8 years ago

I'm OK with all female wildcards. I think it's done for ratings purposes more than social justice purposes. It's fun seeing the best women compete, just like it's fun seeing the top men compete. The important thing is that everyone runs the same course

I agree that the whole social justice angle is a bunch of silly crap. It is definitely about ratings.

[–] HalHopandPop 8 years ago

What do you think of the idea of viewers voting for the wildcards?

Still the risk of 'favoritism' but some deserving competitors would still likely get through.

I think you should at least finish the qualifier to be in contention for Vegas.

Milo, I've told you again and again - please, don't walk on the chickens!

[–] keziadwts 8 years ago

Not a bad idea. But it's pre-recorded, so by the time we see it, the entire thing is already done.

[–] darkavenger77 8 years ago

What do you think of the idea of viewers voting for the wildcards?

Sort of like Dancing with the Stars (2005)? The idea has merit, but as the other member noted it would require programming change. I'll add it would probably cost a lot more, so I doubt it will happen.

Ignoring politics doesn't mean politics will ignore you.
-Pericles paraphrased in <100 characters

[–] HalHopandPop 8 years ago

Yeah, forgot about the tape delay.

Milo, I've told you again and again - please, don't walk on the chickens!

[–] maggieameanderings 8 years ago

Where did you find those detailed results?

I tried to find them and could not. The Season 8 Wikipedia site only lists who were the top 15 finishers for the city finals.

I looked at both the official NBC site and the official Esquire site and they didn't even have any results.

I've been trying to find the complete results for the qualifiers and finals. So I'd appreciate if you'd let me know where you found those.

[–] darkavenger77 8 years ago

Where did you find those detailed results?

You don't have to go far.  IMDB member eel2178 has put together a great list:

2016 Results (spoilers)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587934/board/nest/258019833

It was about 18 down from the top here when I posted this reply.

Ignoring politics doesn't mean politics will ignore you.
-Pericles paraphrased in <100 characters

[–] maggieameanderings 8 years ago

That's amazing. Thank you.