The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is facing a negative reaction to its disparity in treatment between male and female players in its March Madness tournaments.
On Thursday, sports performance coach for Stanford University women’s basketball and golf team, Ali Kershner, posted a video on Twitter showing a big difference between the women’s weight room in his NCAA bubble in San Antonio and the male weight room in his bubble NCAA in Indianapolis.
“In a year marked by the struggle for equality, this is a chance to talk and improve,” wrote Kershner under the image, which showed that the male weight room was not only bigger than the female one, but also had more equipment options and weights for athletes to train.
In response to Kershner’s image and images shared by other athletes, NCAA women’s basketball vice president Lynn Holman released a statement saying the difference in facilities exists in part due to “limited space and the original plan was to expand the training area again space was available later in the tournament. “
However, after listening to the needs of the participating teams, Holman says that the NCAA is now “actively working to improve the existing facilities on the practice courts, including additional weight training equipment”.
Following Holman’s statement, University of Oregon player Sedona Prince shared a video on Twitter showing how big the women’s practice court is and “all the extra space” they have for a better and bigger weight room.
“If you are not upset about this problem, then you are part of it,” said Prince in the video that went viral instantly.
In addition to the images of the weight room, several other college athletes from various women’s basketball teams shared photos and videos showing a disparity in treatment when it came to food options, as well as gift bags.
So far, the NCAA has not issued a statement regarding claims of a difference in food and gift bag options. But several NBA and WNBA players, including Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry and Las Vegas star Aces A’ja Wilson, turned to Twitter to share their disappointment with the NCAA and its apparent lack of resources for female athletes.
This disparity in treatment, according to many athletes, speaks volumes about the lack of investment and funding that women’s sports programs often receive, despite the fact that Title IX requires universities to offer equal treatment to male and female players.
Only last year, female athletes from various colleges spoke about this problem, including female athletes from Clemson University, declaring earlier this month that they intended to bring a class action lawsuit against the school if more financial aid was not provided.
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