In the sports sector, few women hold leadership positions, whether in professional sport, at the collegiate level, or in Olympic governance. In fact, women hold only 22.2% of leadership positions in the NFL, 18% in the MLB, 22.6% in the NBA, 19.1% in MLS, and 34.4% in the WNBA (Lapchick, 2015). Women in sports face obstacles concerning career development and advancement to leadership roles not unlike those faced by women in other industries, including the military at 14.5% (Huyck, 2012), science, technology engineering and math (STEM) at 33% (Reuben, 2014), and the construction industry at only 2.6% (Fortino, 2014). Shaw and Hoeber (2003) note that "assumptions about appropriate leadership characteristics, the organizational environment, and reward practices" affect the progress of women in sports leadership positions (p. 348). Ryan and Haslam (2007) argue that a “glass ceiling†prevents women from reaching highest positions while a “glass escalator†accelerates men through organizations. An additional obstacle women face is a “glass cliff,†when females that break the “glass ceiling†are assigned into positions that are associated with high risk. The labyrinth metaphor (Eagly & Carli, 2007) is a helpful alternative for examining women in sports leadership, especially when considering the unique barriers women face. Women do not face one absolute barrier to high-level leadership and advancement; instead, they face numerous obstacles that together form a labyrinth that must be carefully negotiated to move forward in leadership. This work will explore how communication informs sports leadership and management, with the labyrinth as a replacement for the glass ceiling metaphor.