The big story of the tournament this year has to do with the incredibly different level of facilities provided to the men and women at this year's tournament. To cite just two examples, the men got a weight room with a full array of wrights and equipment. The women got one set of dumbbells and nine yoga mats. The men eat at buffets. The women get lunches in boxes.
It was so bad that Dick's Sporting Goods saw a PR opportunity and said they would send truckloads of equipment for the women.
Two NCAAs turkey named Lynn Holtzman (VP of women's Basketball Operations) Dan Gavitt (VP of Men's Basketball Operations) (wonder if any relation to the fabled Dave, hmmm?) apologized and said they "dropped the ball." Hell, they don't even know what the ball looks like.
Here's what Gavitt said:
"We have intentionally organized basketball under one umbrella (at the NCAA) to ensure consistency and collaboration," Gavitt wrote, per the statement. "When we fall short on these expectations, it's on me.
"I apologize to the women's basketball student-athletes, coaches and the women's basketball committee for dropping the ball on the weight rooms in San Antonio."
Notice, please , that this does not address the food issue. Cute, yes? But wait. There's more.
Yahoo Sports, which has been covering the hell out of this issue, also said that "Connecticut women's coach Geno Auriemma
told reporters on a video conference Thursday that men's teams are receiving daily PCR COVID-19 testing while women's teams are being administered daily antigen tests.PCR tests are more sensitive and can be more accurate than antigen tests, which tend to be more accurate."
How could Gavitt and the others responsible for this travesty not realize that the disparity would be recognized and protested,? After all, every player, male and female, has a phone with a camera and the ability to post on social media, as Sedona Prince of Oregon did to get the ball rolling. So they should have known and they still let this happen. Gavitt and the others need to be fired and replaced with leaders who are full members of this century.
And it doesn't end there. Dawn Staley wrote an interesting piece in which she reminded us all that in the NCAA, the term "March Madness" is reserved for the men only. There was a fascinating piece on Yahoo Sports about the systemic sexism that is built into the NCAA. It is an eye-opener\, an di highly recommend it.
It makes economic sense to invest more in the NCAA men's basketball tournament than the women's tournament. But that economic sense is built on sexism.
sports.yahoo.com