Sean Rayford / Associated Press
South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley said the discrepancies between how the NCAA treated its male and female basketball players in their respective tournaments this year were “disheartening” and called on “the NCAA leadership to reevaluate the value that they attribute to women “.
Staley released the following statement on Twitter on Friday:
One of the discrepancies between men and women at this year’s tournaments was the COVID-19 test, as UConn head coach Geno Auriemma described on Friday:
Jordan Mendoza in USA today reported that the FDA notes that antigen tests are more likely to fail to detect an active infection, while Memorial Healthcare has classified the PCR test as the “gold standard” since it “actually detects RNA (or genetic material) specific to the virus and can detect the virus within a few days of infection, even those with no symptoms. “
The differences do not end there. Sedona Prince, female basketball player from Oregon and Stanford University sports performance coach, Ali Kershner shared images of the difference between the substantial weight-lifting facilities for men and the small dumbbell rack for women:
There were also discrepancies in the food served to men and women and in the size of the gift bags distributed to athletes:
And the NCAA child care offerings were found to be missing:
The organizing body is under intense scrutiny for the treatment of female basketball players in this year’s tournament:
Layshia Clarendon @Layshiac
I love this generation of college basketball players because the courage they have to talk about injustices is something that I didn’t have in college. The female athlete “grateful and happy to be here” is a thing of the past. I am celebrating this fact today! I am proud of you!
Brianna Turner @_Breezy_Briii
I promise there is enough money on the NCAA women’s basketball side to pay more than a dozen yoga mats and dumbbells for a 64-team bubble tournament. The recipe is not the problem. It was a serious lack of planning and concern that, we hope, will be corrected as soon as possible.
“We intentionally organized basketball under the same umbrella, with the aim of consistency and collaboration. When we fall short of those expectations, that’s on me,” NCAA vice president for basketball, Dan Gavitt told reporters Friday. “I apologize to the female basketball student-athletes, the coaches, the female basketball committee for dropping the ball, frankly, on the weight room issue in San Antonio. We will fix this as soon as possible.”