WomenSport International is alarmed and disappointed by the glaring disparities recently occurring in the Men’s and Women’s NCAA basketball tournaments in Indianapolis and San Antonio.
WomenSport International Statement on Gender Inequities
in NCAA Basketball Tournament
March 2021
WomenSport International is alarmed and disappointed by the glaring disparities recently occurring in the Men’s and Women’s NCAA basketball tournaments in Indianapolis and San Antonio. Players and coaches in the women’s tournament have reported via social media the inequities of facility equipment, hotels, food, testing procedures for COVID-19 and the NCAA branding of the “March Madness” tournament.
Only after a public media storm called them out for the significant disparities, the NCAA leadership owned their mistake and vowed to “ get it fixed as soon as possible”. Title IX was enacted into law nearly 50 years ago and 40 years since the NCAA took over governance of women’s sports with a promise to advance gender equity in college sports. Obviously, the NCAA has failed in meeting its own standards during this tournament. We call for the NCAA leadership to review the organizational priorities and procedures that led to these disparities.
These college female student-athletes deserve better. Women athletes have never been content to only participate; they are competitors who fight for equality and will not settle for anything less.
