9 Uncomfortable Truths Behind the Internet’s Misogyny Toward Athletes’ Partners
Sports comment sections on platforms like X and Instagram have become hostile spaces for the partners of star athletes. What began as glossy tabloids in the mid-2000s has evolved into algorithm-driven attacks that go far beyond gossip. The term “WAG” (wives and girlfriends of athletes) was coined to box women in as superficial accessories. Today it fuels a toxic online narrative—from the so-called “Hakimi Rule” to “gold-digger” slurs—that standardizes financial and gendered judgment. This article unpacks nine hard truths about this obsession. From parasocial paranoia and colorism to age-gap panic and the Taylor Swift–Travis Kelce phenomenon, each point reveals how the internet polices, profits from, and distorts these relationships.
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