The Price She Pays

Confronting the Hidden Mental Health Crisis in Women's Sports—from the Schoolyard to the Stadium

By: Tiffany Brown PhD PhD, Katie Steele, Erin Strout

Narrated by: Charlotte Moore-Lambert

Two experts in mental health and sport lift the veil on the crisis in women’s athletics, offering parents and coaches urgently needed advice and support and showing how female athletes can find joy in whatever sport they choose, at whatever level they compete.

No matter the sport, the message to girls and women is the same: Be aggressive, but not too aggressive. Win at all costs, but be polite while doing it. Get strong, but not too big. Female athletes have long been conditioned to perform under these standards, gracefully and without complaints.

Yet, behind the scenes, female athletes are suffering from disordered eating and substance use; depression and anxiety; emotional and sexual abuse; racism and discrimination; self-harm, and even suicide ideation. When global tennis star Naomi Osaka and gymnastics world champion Simone Biles took breaks from competing to tend to their mental health, many were compelled to ask: What is causing this mental health crisis in women’s sports? In The Price She Pays, Katie Steele and Dr. Tiffany Brown illuminate where we are going wrong—and how we can correct course.

Through first-hand accounts, research, and reporting, they reveal the deep layers of trauma and mistreatment women experience in their pursuit of excellence in sport. They show parents, coaches, and athletes how to recognize the signs of mistreatment and mental health issues, and reveal how, by focusing on the wellbeing of the whole person—not just the athlete—we can provide women and girls with the support they need to thrive, in whatever sport they choose, at whatever level they compete.

Such important information everyone needs to know

This book was so impactful. I learned a lot about what I didn’t know in terms of what goes on. It’s such a great resource for girls, coaches and parents. ❤️ It’s also an important read for any fan of sport.

Mixed messages

THE PRICE SHE PAYS is a well-intentioned book on the difficulties girls and young women pay to succeed in sports, from intramural to the NCAA. The writers make the case for female needs to feel safe, supported and encouraged from coaches, parents and teammates.

By illustrating vignettes of athletes who have encountered troubles along the way the writers illustrate their points of view. I found myself wanting more depth and breadth of information such as mental health history and family dynamics. I also would have liked to know how teammates experienced similar situations, particularly for NCAA athletes.

On one hand I know that girls and boys have different needs and that they respond differently to the same circumstances, though outliers obviously exist. On the other hand the way the information was presented seemed to imply that girls couldn’t handle the way boys are coached. I wish that writers had focused on the different motivations for the genders.

Where THE PRICE SHE PAYS lost me was on transgender access to girl’s sports and locker rooms. Riley Gaines addresses the discomfort some female athletes felt with a biological male in their locker rooms in her memoir SWIMMING AGAINST THE CURRENT. I’m old enough to remember when Title IX began and the excitement I felt that I could participate in more sports. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t athletic or that I disliked playing sports. To me it was about not being told I wasn’t allowed. Even so, the fight for equality in sport still exists and scholarships are hard to come by.

I don’t recommend this book.