Danica Patrick & The Female Athlete Dilemma

Danica Patrick is back in the spotlight, this time after issuing an apology for comments she made to Sports Illustrated before the Indy 500. In a radio interview with Sports Illustrated columnist Dan Patrick, the following exchange took place:

Dan: If you could take a performance-enhancing drug and not get caught, would you do it if it allowed you to win Indy?

Danica: Well, then, it's not cheating, is it? If nobody finds out?

Dan: So you would do it?

Danica: Yeah, it would be like finding a grey area. In motorsports we work in grey areas a lot. You're trying to find where the holes are in the rule book.

Danica apologized for her statement in an interview with USA Today columnist Christine Brennan, stating:

"The whole interview with Dan Patrick, and every other interview I've ever done with Dan, the questioning comes from left field. It was just a joke and I really apologize if it came across any other way...It was a bad joke. There is a lot of sensitivity in our culture about [performance-enhancing drugs]. With all the baseball stuff, I've followed it and this is a real [roblem. It's a shame kids think they have to do this to get ahead. It's very dangerous...It's absolutely not what I'm about. I've learned my lesson on what I should be joking about."

This isn't the first time that Danica Patrick has surrounded herself with a bit of controversy. Her racy commercials for GoDaddy.com (see here, and here) and her Sports Illustrated swimsuit appearances both caused a stir, and caused many to question whether her behavior was appropriate for someone who is in a position to be a role model to so many young girls.

The debate goes like this: on one side, people are praising Danica for "putting herself out there," for embracing her femininity while "proving herself" a more-than competent female athlete in a male-dominated sport, and for "being herself," and having the guts to joke around about a sensitive topic. On the other side, people are criticizing her for "plac[ing] barriers for women...by normalizing objectification," and for lacking the personal accountability that should be expected of someone in the spotlight.

On one hand, we all know that sex sells, and Danica's actions do draw attention to a highly successful female athlete in a traditionally-male sport. And we all know that at the end of the day, she's nothing more than human, and she makes mistakes and oversteps boundaries like the rest of us. But on the other hand, is Danica furthering stereotypes by allowing the media to objectify her?  Is she doing more damage than good when the attention she draws as a woman driver serves more to highlight her "otherness" as a female athlete, and the vast differences between herself and her male counterparts? And when she gives interviews such as the one above, whether she claims to be joking or not, does that undermine fans' ability to take her seriously?

So, here's my question to you: How is it best for female athletes to garner attention for themselves and their sports? How far is too far when the goal is to increase visibility of female athletes, whether they participate in traditionally male- or female- dominated sports? What types of behavior should be off-limits, and what is acceptable?  And where should personal accountability enter the conversation?