I probably should just walk away here but ugggg.
Given that men in business settings often discuss sports to break the ice, it could help both men and women to know a little about sports to fit in in industries where men currently predominate. Is it sexist to say that?
Depends on what you mean by "help". If help means that they will be able to engage in meaningless small talk, sure go for it. If "help" means that they need to do it so they won't be passed over for a promotion because they can't name the starting line up and spout sports facts then I'm going to go with that being sexist (unless you're talking about a job in the sports industry).