Women's sports are having a moment, but sexism is still holding back success

"Start doing it to me and we'll get along just fine."

It was a cringe-worthy moment right at the start of Caitlin Clark's first news conference with the Indiana Fever: when it was his turn to ask a question — just the second one for the WNBA's No. 1 draft pick — columnist Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star instead mimicked Clark's signature heart-shaped hand gesture.

Clark smiled and said, "Yeah, I do that at my family after every game."

Which is when Doyel responded with his comment about "doing it to me and we'll get along fine" that was broadcast live and immediately ignited social media, with some people arguing his credentials should be revoked. 

Doyel later apologized in a column for being "part of the problem," saying he "screwed up."

But while Doyel's comments might be one of the more recent — and public — instances of a female athlete being sexualized, sports and media experts note there's a long history of it. And now, as women's sports are experiencing a meteoric rise in popularity, breaking attendance and viewership records, a new report highlights how sexism still  holds back women's professional sports — and investment decision-making.

"We take a step forward and then two steps back," Angela Schneider, an Olympic silver medallist in rowing and the director of the International Centre for Olympic Studies at Western University in London, Ont., told CBC News.

"It definitely puts an exclamation mark on the fact that we still have a long way to go," said Cheri Bradish, an associate professor in sports marketing at Toronto Metropolitan University, and the director of the Future of Sport Lab.

Women's sport isn't just having a moment — it's having a movement, Bradish told CBC News. She points to brand new