Issues with the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

Andy Roddick is the best tennis player in America, by a lot. He sits seventh in the world rankings while Jon Isner of North Carolina checks in at twenty fifth. He also has longevity. Roddick is approaching the tenth anniversary of his first major victory in March of 2000, and was also the youngest U.S player to rank first overall in 2003, a solid seven years ago.

His career resume reads like a series of Chuck Norris facts: holds record for fastest serve ever, beat Pete Sampras when he was 19, won the US Open, hosted Saturday Night Live. It's been a good run. But there has been one thing eluding Roddick since his initial rise ten years ago. He has never been on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He has gone 0 for 260 in covers of the bi-weekly SI.

Brooklyn Decker is Andy Roddicks wife. Currently, you can catch her topless on the cover of this weeks Sports Illustrated, arms strategically placed over her breasts, lounging on a Maldivian beach. Perhaps you also noticed the same on the giant billboard hanging over 53^rd & Broadway? When juxtaposed against the case of her husband, Decker's presence on the cover sends seems ludicrous, and that's without even considering the message being sent to young female athletes every where. Take into account that they haven't seen a woman on the cover since last years Swimsuit Issue. Annika Sorenstam, the greatest female golfer of all time, has never been given the same honor as Decker handed last week, despite being impossibly more qualified. Decker was discovered by a modeling agency and was willing to take her clothes off, making her as relevant to a sports magazine as she would be to Readers Digest.

Perhaps realizing they had gone nearly 50 issues without putting a fully clothed woman on their cover, Sports Illustrated chose Olympic skier Lindsay Vonn to co-headline their Olympic preview, along with Canada's beloved hockey phenom Sidney Crosby. Vonn had never won a Olympic medal, but she too appeared in the Swimsuit Issue, wearing nothing but a barely there bikini on a ski slope, holding her skis while presumably fending off hypothermia. Prior to that, you would have to go back to May of 2008 to find a fully clothed woman on the cover of SI, Danica Patrick, the Indy Car racer who has more Sports Illustrated covers (2) than race wins (0). Patrick, at this point, may be better recognized as the spokeswoman for the controversial ad-campaign for domain host godaddy.com, and has unquestionably taken advantage of her sexuality over the years in the boys club of professional racing.

In order to find the last woman to make the cover strictly for her athletic acheivements, you would need to have subscribed since April 12, 2007, a staggering 65 covers and 3 Swimsuit Issues ago, when Candace Parker was featured while celebrating her 2007 NCAA Women's Basketball championship. That is simply an unacceptable fact for a company that cashes in on the objectification of women on an annual basis, and spends the other 25 issues devoted to the world of sports, which is populated by deserving men and women alike.

And cash in they do. A recent special on CNBC found that the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue has essentially kept the magazine in business over the last several years and is clearly the most profitable issue of the year for SI, by a wide margin. In the current publishing climate, with print media withering, with consumers gravitating towards free web content and niche media, the Swinsuit Issue remains SI's only remaining cash cow.

It is impossible then to expect the magazine to discontinue their annual issue, as doing so, at least according to CNBC, could bankrupt the company. However, I would unquestionably challenge SI to show a greater commitment to women atheletes throughout the year. Call on them not to remove their clothes once per year, but to showcase their athletic prowess throughout the year. This is not an unreasonable request.