Florida State and University of Georgia graduate Karmen Morrison uses her skills in the communications and journalism industry and being a graduate assistant. Morrison grew up in Jacksonville, Florida playing basketball, volleyball and flag football throughout high school.
“What drew me from sports to journalism? When I was in high school, I was asked to do a lot of interviews about school and sports. I was in an early college program, so people were asking me a lot about that. I ended up being the Female Athlete of the Year of my city. So I did a few different interviews for that, and I had fun doing it. I was the interviewee, obviously, but I enjoyed it. And I was like, I think I could probably do this. So that’s where I got my start. ”
In high school being an involved student athlete, Morrison said she saw the difference between men’s and women’s sports quickly.
When going to Florida State majoring in media communications studies, she used her social media platforms to advocate for women’s sports. With women’s sports on the rise right now, it’s important to see other women and previous athletes show support. Female athletes deal with more pressures than men as professionals. For example,
“I’m on social media, so I share my opinions,” Morrison said, adding that one interview she conducted was really powerful to her. “I got to talk to Lonnie Alameda. She’s their head softball coach, very, very renowned coach. And this was following a very late game. So I asked her, what’s your opinion on you guys playing really late? And she was very open, honest, blunt about it. It’s probably one of my favorite interviews I’ve done. She spoke about a lot of the things that could change with the Women’s College World Series, and so I included that stuff in my package.”
Morrison expresses herself through sports journalism and takes pride in women’s sports, whether it’s on social media, the stories she does, or just little quotes. Morrison mentioned that tennis is one of the only sports to pay women and men equally, at least in the majors. She thinks it’s important, but just a small step.
Morrison believes no matter race, age, or gender, representation matters. Even though she calls herself a rookie she likes to share what she knows with younger people to help them become better than what she is.
“I think for me, one thing that irritated me, is we had a good football team when I was there, and they would always get free shirts. But we were districts champs year after year, and I’m like, why we aren’t we getting free shirts? What’s going on?” This is one example of how something simple can make a difference. Looking beyond the sport, it’s the principle of it not being equal for the girls and boys teams.
“And I think for me, representation matters. Obviously, I’m a black woman, so you got to be able to reach back and show little girls, even little boys, and show them what’s possible. I think it’s really about representation at the end of the day.”
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