Women in sports can have a hard time, and Pitch is working to make sure sports fans recognize it. Instead of letting the show's main character Ginny Baker (Kylie Bunbury) be objectified as a beautiful woman on a sports cover, the show's male supporting actors stepped up to pose nude, too.
Nude photos have been a talking point on Pitch for a while. We know Ginny snapped a few for an ex, and we know his iCloud was hacked, leaving the images vulnerable to a leak. It's one more sexist trope of being a woman in athletics: women players are judged unfairly for their behavior outside of the baseball stadium.
This week, though, Pitch pushed back against shaming. Instead of lecturing Ginny on her personal life, the teammates showed up to support her. In fact, they started a nude photo scandal of their own: the men posed naked with Ginny for ESPN the Magazine’s Body Issue.
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Meet your #Pitch team! ? #Unstoppable pic.twitter.com/nhzRJlLO6k
— Pitch (@PITCHonFOX) November 11, 2016
Online, Pitch fans were happy that the show is working to dismantle the sexist double standards.
I can't stop smiling ? @kyliebunbury @MPG #Pitch pic.twitter.com/tCwWio5R70
— GLORY DAYS (@94BENZOSTYLES) November 11, 2016
This is why I love #Pitch! Women supporting women. Women loving women. #RenewPitch @kyliebunbury @TheRealAliL pic.twitter.com/6BnhyYGBal
— Cor (@xoxoCorinne) November 11, 2016
#RenewPitch because there is no other show on TV with this many strong women role models. @PITCHonFOX #Pitch #PitchPlease
— Gina Sutton (@Schooch314) November 11, 2016
After the episode aired, Pitch star Mark-Paul Gosselaar shared another mostly-nude photo, this time from the two actors who play the team's crotchety coaches:
Here's a pic that unfortunately wasn't used for the nude team photo shoot. Lucky for you I'm sharing. #pitch pic.twitter.com/Rrgp4vEXmI
— Mark-Paul Gosselaar (@MPG) November 11, 2016
Well played, Pitch.