“She opens her mouth to speak again, but no words come out, nerves holding her back, the room too preoccupied with their own chatter to realize she’s here and asking for their attention. Her knuckles go white from her firm grip around the podium, her knees slightly shaking, which I can only see because I’m sitting in the front row.”

This passage exemplifies a rare moment where Reese’s vulnerabilities show through her professional mask as she prepares to confront Female Authority Tested by Institutional Sexism. She must present a carefully curated front to others, especially at her workplace, because as a woman in sports business, she can’t be anything less than perfect without giving the media more ammunition against her. However, behind all the professionalism is a woman who could potentially crumble under the pressure or face self-doubt under all the scrutiny.

“She’s the only person in all of Chicago who uses my first name when everyone else calls me by my nickname. And I know she does it on purpose, like she’s refusing to allow any sort of comfortability between us. It’s as if she’s once again reminding me that she’s my boss […] It’ll make it that much easier for her to let me go at the end of the year.”

Emmett has this initial false belief that Reese is entirely business-focused and that no personal connections will sway her from viewing everyone in the franchise as chess pieces. However, he is correct about her lack of interest in connecting with him even if his assumed reasoning why is wrong. After a disastrous past marriage and her distrust in romantic relationships following Jeremy, Reese is wary of allowing men into her heart or her life.

“I mostly believe that I can do it. I know what I’m talking about when it comes to both business and baseball, but I can’t lie and say it hasn’t crossed my mind more than a few times that I might not be the right person for the job. And it’s hard not to let those thoughts creep in when the only person who believes in me is me.”

This passage presents the unfortunate consequences of Female Authority Tested by Institutional Sexism. Despite being a confident woman who knows the franchise and the sport forwards and backwards, the discrimination against her causes her to doubt herself. Her fellow male team-owners do not face the same level of criticism and likely don’t have as much ingrained self-doubt to overcome because of it.