That women’s sports aren’t treated with the same priority as men’s is no surprise, but the latest example of unequal access within the NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments is an absolute joke.
Ali Kershner, the performance coach at Stanford, highlighted the discrepancy in access to weight rooms and equipment between the women and the men on social media. In an Instagram post, Kershner showed side-by-side shots of the men’s fully equipped weight room, and literally the one rack of dumbbells and yoga mats that the women have access too.
“@ncaawbb @ncaa @marchmadness this needs to be addressed. These women want and deserve to be given the same opportunities,” she wrote.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMkRJ2LswFp/?utm_source=ig_embed
Her concerns were backed up by other NCAA women’s strength coaches, who further showed that the women have access to basically nothing until they make it to the Sweet 16.
Same sport. Same national tournament. Same number of teams. Wbb only has access to 1 stationary bike and a “weight pyramid” for the first 2 rounds. WBB can’t use the weight room till the sweet 16. MBB has access to theirs right away.
— Zack Zillner (@zszillner) March 17, 2021
“Same sport. Same national tournament. Same number of teams. Wbb only has access to 1 stationary bike and a “weight pyramid” for the first 2 rounds. WBB can’t use the weight room till the sweet 16. MBB has access to theirs right away,” Zack Zillner, Texas’ director of sports performance said.
Molly Binetti the performance coach for South Carolina said the weights they had access to also didn’t go past 50lbs, jokingly noting it was because women can’t lift more than that.
A weight room will be available once you advance to the sweet 16…
-2 racks
-2 bars
-Dumbbells up to 50lb because women can’t lift more than that— Molly Binetti (@CoachBinetti) March 17, 2021
After being called out on social media, the NCAA’s vice president of women’s basketball Lynn Holzman blamed the mix up on “limited space.”
“We acknowledge that some of the amenities teams would typically have access to have not been as available inside the controlled environment. In part, this is due to the limited space and the original plan was to expand the workout area once additional space was available later in the tournament. However, we want to be responsive to the needs of our participating teams, and we are actively working to enhance existing resources at practice courts, including additional weight training equipment.”
Limited space huh?
Limited space 🤔 pic.twitter.com/nqh9SeKuNv
— kdot (@kendriclindsey) March 18, 2021
Despite being treated so poorly, the teams are trying to make the best of it.
…No weight room….No problem…@RutgersWBB @A_Hudy @zszillner @alikershner @bigticket_ts @Arella_Karinnn @SupremeSteph3 @_diamond3_ @Working_Gal_ @SakimaWalker @J2walla @DanielleeeM3 @NHMillionaire_ @coachedwardsru @JoiyaMaddox #WobbleWarmup #trustRprocess pic.twitter.com/OasrTeJfMb
— Glenn Cain (@GCainStrength) March 18, 2021
This is great, but the point is that they shouldn’t have to make the best out of a bad situation. Women’s sports already face an uphill battle in coverage and equitable funding, and this is just another slight from the NCAA.
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