Phillies: New Sixers PxP Kate Scott roasts Lenny Dykstra in viral Twitter exchange

Former Phillies All-Star Lenny Dykstra got roasted by new Sixers broadcaster Kate Scott

Former Philadelphia Phillies star Lenny Dykstra spends a lot of his retirement on Twitter.

He jokes about the trade that brought him to the Phillies, celebrates every month that he avoids arrest, and talks a lot about vaccinations and politics.

Kate Scott, meanwhile, is the new play-by-play broadcaster for the Philadelphia 76ers, replacing Mark Zumoff on NBC Sports Philadelphia. She will be the first female broadcaster, not only in Sixers history, but in the history of the other three male sports teams as well. She was also on the first all-female broadcasts for both the NHL and NBA’s Golden State Warriors earlier this year.

According to Yahoo Sports, Scott was previously with Pac-12 Network, but has also called NHL, NFL, NBA, and Copá America soccer games, and did play-by-play for both men’s and women’s basketball at this summer’s Tokyo Olympics. The only thing missing from her prestigious resumé is baseball; maybe she’ll grace the Phillies’ booth at some point next season.

So what do these two have in common? A wild and problematic Twitter thread from this weekend. When the Sixers announced Scott’s hire on September 23, someone felt the need to tag Dykstra in the mentions of the tweet. Dykstra replied, “I’ve seen hotter,” to which Scott replied, “Same.”

Mic drop. 

The exchange actually ended well after that, with Dykstra responding, “Well-played! Good luck in the new position,” and offering to share “a few Harry Kalas stories.”

But as a woman in sports myself, I want to point out a few things about this exchange. For starters, why was Dysktra tagged in this tweet in the first place? Presumably, because the person doing the tagging thought Dykstra would have a funny or outrageous comment to make about the hiring. And there isn’t actually anything funny or outrageous about hiring a qualified candidate, unless you think hiring qualified women for sports positions is some kind of joke.

Then there’s the fact that Dykstra made it about Scott’s looks, which in no way impact how good she is at her job; Dykstra certainly was not required to be a male model when he played baseball. Scott’s resumé and hard work are what got her here, as evidenced by the dozens of people in the industry who posted congratulatory messages to her when the hiring news was announced.

Women have made such huge strides in sports, but there is such a long way to go. This Twitter exchange, and countless other unkind and sexist replies to the Sixers’ tweet show how many boys and men feel threatened by women taking up space in sports. In my experience, it’s often not that I’m factually wrong in what I’m saying, it’s just that I’m a woman, so they don’t want me to be the one saying it. As a result, the replies I get are often about me being a woman, not me being incorrect. The same clearly goes for Scott here, seeing as she hasn’t actually begun her Sixers job yet, so it’s impossible for Dykstra or anyone else to find something work-related to criticize.

Philadelphia sports fans absolutely loved Scott for clapping back, with many quote-tweeting or replying to her that she’s now already cemented herself as a Philadelphia legend. But it’s worth pointing out how common it is for women in sports to be judged, not on their actual experience and knowledge, but on the way they look. And it’s time to stop.