CONNECTICUT, USA — As March madness heats up so does some controversy in the NCAA.
A post has gone viral on social media from a Stanford sport’s performance coach. In the tweet, Ali Kershner calls out the lack of amenities at the women’s basketball tournament compared to the men’s. Showing a single rack of weights for the women, an entire gym set up for the men.
UConn Women’s Coach Geno Auriemma weighing in on the issue while he’s still quarantining at home, waiting to join the UConn women in the tournament.
“It’s disappointing when the players, whether they are in Indianapolis or San Antonio feel as though there are things that could’ve been done, should’ve been done, should be happening that aren’t happening and it’s disappointing to hear that,” said Coach Geno Auriemma, Uconn Women’s Basketball coach.
Hours after that tweet went viral, the NCAA released a statement that read in part, "Some of the amenities teams would typically have access to have not been as available inside the controlled environment,” said NCAA vice president of women's basketball Lynn Holzman.
She went on to say “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."
But right after that statement was released Oregon Ducks player Sedona Prince shared this video on TikTok, disputing claims made by the NCAA that there was a lack of space.
Coach Auriemma saying it certainly doesn’t shine a positive light on women’s basketball.
“It certainly doesn’t put us, speaking of women’s basketball, it doesn’t put us in the best possible light. Again, I’m not there, I’m not privy to any of the details, exactly what and how things were put together and why. But from what I see and from what I know people have put out there doesn’t present a very good picture at all,” said Auriemma.
Several NBA and WNBA players now weighing in on this issue on social media.
The NCAA says it’s "actively working to enhance existing resources at practice courts, including additional weight training equipment."