'#1 soccer blog in the United States' now #1 in sexist soccer reporting as well

The bio blurb for World Soccer Talk's 68k followers-strong Twitter account, @worldsoccertalk proudly proclaims that their blog is the "#1 soccer blog in the United States."  Whether that's true or not in whatever metric that is being used for measuring, I do not know, though it also doesn't really matter right now.  I've been following them for quite a while, even before Twitter, starting back in the day when they were EPL Talk and were one of the very first significant online entities, which covered the Premier League here in the States.  They were especially valuable when it came to discussing and finding out about TV coverage options and future plans.  Their lead editor and many of their regular contributors have appeared in various publications around the world and their podcast host used to host shows on FOX Soccer Channel.  Basically, they are a reputable resource.

Which is why I was particularly saddened to see one of their latest efforts on my Twitter timeline earlier tonight.  In fact, let's make that 'angered.'

In appreciation of Chelsea first team medic Eva Carniero http://t.co/0J9gpV9jRm #CFC #EPL pic.twitter.com/fGTwVuylml

— World Soccer Talk (@worldsoccertalk) October 16, 2014

The choice of picture for the tweet (along with the phrase "in appreciation") already made me apprehensive of what may follow behind the link, but I tried to remain naive and not let previous experiences of writing and reading articles about Dr. Eva Carneiro color my expectations.  After all, we use close-ups and head-shots of athletes, managers, and people involved in and around football all the time as lead images, though while an athlete's image is an integral part of his existence as a professional, I'm not sure the same could be said of a doctor, even one as visible as the Chelsea physio.  Still, I tried not to assume the worst and clicked the link.

"A Lowdown on Chelsea's first team doctor, Eva Carneiro," claimed the headline.  While anybody who's seen her speech at the Swedish FA medical conference will know a bit about her background, I was actually intrigued for moment to see if I could perhaps learn a bit more about the woman who plays such a large role in keeping our players generally healthy and fit.  And so I dove right in, scrolling down to the first words in the post.

Her beauty matches her brains...

Uh-oh.

..and football pundits often take the mickey out of Chelsea players for staying down injured a tad too long, only to have their first team medic attend to their injury. Yes, she is Chelsea's highly qualified eye-candy, Eva Carneiro.

Oh no.  Pundits like Keys and Gray, maybe?  Wait, what's that?  Eye-candy? Are you [funning] kidding me right now?

For many, the knowledge on this damsel ends at the beauty that manifests...

Damsel? Oh dear, oh dear.

Is this the standard you hold yourself to now, World Soccer Talk? A sexist "lowdown" -- one with hardly anything beyond basic Wikipedia facts anyway -- on the Chelsea first-team doctor (and assistant medical director)?  For shame.

The article, if we want to call it that, was not written by one their regular contributors.  This actually makes the situation even worse, as their own process for soliciting, accepting, and publishing guest posts makes it clear that all works go through an editorial process.  Somebody actually reviewed this garbage and deemed it suitable for featuring it on the website!  Congrats on keeping sexism going strong in sports (new) media even in 2014, World Soccer Talk! You have fully earned my unfollow.