Letter from an Editor | February 6, 2021

Dear John,

Will you be watching the Super Bowl this Sunday? Perhaps football isn’t a topic that you’d expect for this weekly letter—and generally, you’d be correct in your assumption! But, as Americans tune in across the country this year, I want to make sure you’ve seen some of the excellent reporting we’ve done on the topic on MsMagazine.com this week.

Did you know that large sporting events, like the Super Bowl, often lead to an increase in cases of human trafficking? Tomorrow’s Super Bowl in Tampa, Fla. will highlight the efforts the NFL has made to grapple with human trafficking. Many NFL players, along with other prominent athletes, support the “It’s A Penalty” campaign, which was created to draw attention to this urgent issue. Together with its partners, they’ve facilitated the rescue of nearly 17,000 victims of trafficking and exploitation and have prevented thousands more from becoming victims.

Helen LaVan, writing on MsMagazine.com this week, describes other efforts to counter the human trafficking problem surrounding the Super Bowl: “…Airline Ambassadors International are providing increased airport alerts. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody unveiled digital signage as part of the Tampa International Airport campaign. There is ongoing training of hotel workers to report human trafficking. Uber is offering training of Uber drivers to spot incidents of human trafficking and report them.”

Tragically, LaVan observes that, “Tampa’s large population of runaways is also a growing contributor to the problem. The city ranks 12th of all American cities for the number of calls per capita to the National Human Trafficking Hotline from Polaris.”

LaVan continues, “The Super Bowl will draw attention to human trafficking for one day—and days before and after in press coverage. But reducing human trafficking needs to be an ongoing endeavor by businesses, organizations and the public.” This is not an issue that exists for just one day and then, when a major event is over, simply disappears. It’s on all of us—not just professional athletes—to work to end human trafficking every single day. For Ms ., LaVan outlined a few ways each of us can make a powerful difference. Get started here [[link removed]] .

We also published an excellent piece by Ms . Money Editor Martha Burk this week, which exposes a (not-so-secret) secret: the intense sexism that NFL cheerleaders face in their work. As Burk writes: “It’s an all-too-familiar story for working women—low pay, long hours, zero benefits and near-impossible standards of sexiness and appearance not applied to male-dominated jobs. To top it all off, this particular tale also includes not just ‘the usual’ discrimination, but outright wage theft.” Burk shares the story of two women who took on the NFL for pay and sex discrimination— it’s a must-read [[link removed]] .

So, while you’re snacking on nachos or Tweeting about the best (and worst!) Super Bowl commercials this year, I ask that you keep these issues in mind. It’s on all of us to make this a better, more just world—and to not let ourselves be distracted by the pomp and circumstance.

For equality,
Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor

[link removed]?

This Week's Must-Reads from Ms .

The Pope, The NFL and the FBI: Stop Human Trafficking Now [[link removed]]

The Not-So-Secret Sexism of the Super Bowl [[link removed]]

A New Era for Women: The Biden Administration’s Vision on Health Care and Reproductive Rights [[link removed]]

Telemedicine Abortion Health Care Now an Option in Massachusetts [[link removed]]

Biden’s Second Round of Executive Actions Tackles Immigration and Reuniting Families [[link removed]]

Women’s Representation: Saluting Black Women in Politics—Past, Present and Future [[link removed]]



Ms. Magazine
1600 Wilson Boulevard
Suite 801
Arlington, VA 22209
United States

If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe: [link removed] .