Women in Sports Wednesday: With Maggie Vlasaty

by: Madison Hedding

Who: Maggie Vlasaty
@maggievelocity
LDE Specialist with Sportradar 

“It’s not great to be the hand that removes someone from a job, but it’s got to change. If it doesn’t change there, then where does it change? It’ll always be tough on both ends but having a team behind you that believes in you and supports you is a game-changer.” 

​What’s your story? 
 
Maggie knew in high school that she wasn’t meant for the small-town life. Graduating with 40 people, and knowing that, she didn’t hesitate to pack her bags and find her way to the University of Minnesota as soon as she could. Starting classes in the physical therapy program, Maggie soon realized that her impression of those who played sports in high school ended up going down that career path. Yet, she would quickly come to find that there were so many more paths to walk in the sports world than just physical therapy. 

During a guest speaker presentation in one of her classes, she realized the array of various positions in front-office, management, and back-office sports teams need and have. That was where the light bulb finally turned on, and Maggie knew that was the path she wanted to take. 

Minneapolis is referred to as the “power city” because they have every professional sports team. Thus, the University of Minnesota, which is in Minneapolis, has excellent relations between the sport management program and the professional organizations. Using this resource of a relationship makes finding internships, jobs, and opportunities were relatively simple. 

With Maggie’s mindset of her drive to work hard and do the dirty work when necessary with the right attitude, her bosses in different internships realized this instantly. Because of it, she naturally found that her innate passion and drive for sports and the industry was like putting the missing puzzles pieces finally together. 

“I think that it’s based on what my role was but my favourite internship that I’ve ever had, and it was my first internship, too, was being a marketing intern for Gopher Athletics.” Maggie found her love for marketing in this internship as she put in all her effort and dedication to it. It was an unpaid internship, but she made the most of it and put in what she wanted to get out of it. 

Through her time in the sports world, Maggie has a pretty cool claim to fame. She has worked with every professional team in Minneapolis except for the Vikings. That’s a pretty unique thing to say that you have done in your career. Checking off working for all the sports teams in a major city would be a pretty sweet bucket list item to complete in your life, that’s for sure. 

Currently, Maggie is a statistician, referred to as an LDE specialist with Sportradar. They are a company that sends live stats to significant search engines in real-time. She loves working for Sportradar, but hopefully, when things go back to normal, Maggie will try to get back into the marketing field. 

Share some struggles/challenges you have had to overcome as a woman working in sports? 

“I’ve been fortunate to be in a position where I haven’t experienced some of the horrific things that a lot of other women have in the sports world. But there are a handful of situations that have come across my career that have made me uncomfortable.” Anywhere you work as a woman, the flirtation approach that comes from any male that doesn’t have the proper attitude in a work environment is a constant battle. It’s something that women shouldn’t have to but unfortunately has to grow with it to fight against it. We have to learn and know where it stops from being this care-free sort of an attitude and turns into the extreme situations that we see in the news so frequently. 

In a specific situation, Maggie was working, and someone who was in a prominent position and known by many crossed the line with her and a few other females in the office. Being unprofessional and continually making comments that were uncomfortable to hear, Maggie decided enough was enough and reported it to her superiors. With her superior being male, she was unsure how he would take it, his hesitancy of wanting to report it, and what he’d think about her coming forward with a very uncomfortable situation. Thankfully, he was very encouraging and, without hesitation, took a stand behind Maggie and said that it would be handled. A few weeks later, it was announced that the male in that position had been let go from the organization due to several sexual harassment accounts. 

“To be part of a bigger picture like that is more important, and it can be uncomfortable because you don’t want to be the only one. But, I was the first to report or the last to report, and it helped make that decision from the organization.” Bringing the light of a challenging situation is so hard, no matter what it deals with. But, getting light to one that has already been reported is such a relieving and freeing feeling. 

As women, whenever things happen, we feel that because of our gender, our situation won’t be seen as valid or that it even occurred. It’s so disappointing to have to shove our horrific experiences in a box and learn to live with it because we are told to believe that whatever happened to us was our fault or that we’re lying and no way that could have occurred. Instead, why aren’t those who have the power to make a change to prevent those unnecessary situations stand on our side, rather than continually fighting against us? That’s a question that we need to be asking more regularly of anyone who works in a place where change can be implemented. 

“It’s not great to be the hand that removes someone from a job, but it’s got to change. If it doesn’t change there, then where does it change? It’ll always be tough on both ends but having a team behind you that believes in you and supports you is a game-changer.” 

What is the best advice you can give a woman who is either just getting her foot in the industry or already working in sports about navigating the struggles and challenges we face? 

“With it being such a saturated sports market in Minneapolis, there haven’t been many situations as a general view as the male to female ratio is off. But, when you go into an important meeting, you see that the ratio is off and in favour of men.” Maggie believes her programs and internships she’s worked at have strived to create diverse environments and push the envelope to make that a constant in their organizations. 

Maggie has heard from a few people who have pushed her to be the strong and independent woman she has grown into to “never expect a job just because you are a woman in sports. That’s the wrong route to take. You shouldn’t be hired just because you are the lesser, and you need to fill the role of the ratio.” People should be hired off experience, talent, and character in the workplace, not because they check a box that many people can’t. 

From time to time, we look at the room, and we don’t see people that are similar to you looking back. “You shouldn’t think poor me; I’m by myself. Rather you should think, wow, I’ve been given this opportunity to be that difference-maker; let’s make a statement.” Maggie has grown into someone who takes advantage of what some may consider being a disadvantage. That’s a remarkable trait that we all should strive to have. 

“You have to keep going, keep raising your hand, keep using your voice, keep going. In any job, you’re not there because you’re supposed to check a box; you’re there because you matter, and because you are qualified and have worked hard and earned your seat at the table.” 

Wherever you come from, wherever you’ve started, sport is a grind, and it always is going to be. Maggie knows that finding new ways to get people engaged and involved in those tough conversations is something that needs to be regularly present and on people’s minds. “Yes, it’s gotten more difficult and harder as the pandemic hit, but no matter what, stay strong in the grind and keep going.”

If you are interested in sharing your story, struggles, and words of encouragement for other women in sports, please send me a DM through social media (@MadisonHedding) or email me 15mhedding@gmail.com. 

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