NCAA gives women’s teams weight room after uproar

After nationwide outrage over the NCAA offering men a full weight room while giving female athletes a barbell rack, the organization caved in. According to an update posted on social media on Saturday, the women’s teams got what they hoped for: a room filled with weight-training equipment.

“Guess what, guys,” said Sedona Prince, an Oregon Ducks player. “We’ve got a weight room. We’ve got a ton of extra dumbbells, check this out. Check out all those squat racks and whatever you wanna do.”

In a video released on Saturday, Prince offers viewers a full tour of the hardware provided to players for the March Madness tournaments.

“Thanks to the NCAA for listening to us,” she said. “We all appreciate you, thank you very much.”

The revelation about the blatantly unequal treatment of men’s and women’s teams has caused anger on social media. Photos of the men’s installation have been juxtaposed against the lone barbell rack in an empty room, emphasizing the stark contrast.

“The real problem isn’t the weights or the ‘swag’ bags; it’s that they didn’t think or didn’t think the players ‘deserved’ the same amenities as the men,” wrote the three-time medalist. Olympic gold medalist Dawn Staley in a statement she posted on Twitter.

Staley also explicitly called NCAA President Mark Emmert responsible for the biggest disparity.

“What we know now is that the NCAA’s message of the season on ‘unity’ and ‘equality’ was a matter of convenience and a phrase for the moment created after the murder of George Floyd” , she wrote.

Staley was far from the only person to set the NCAA’s feet on fire.

“This is an absolute embarrassment and is by no means acceptable”, ESPN host Jay Williams wrote on Twitter. “I’m fed up with women’s football being treated as a product after thought. Their game is elite and their accommodations should be treated as such. PERIOD.”

The NCAA did not immediately apologize. His initial statement falsely claimed that the problem was due to limited space, which the athletes quickly debunked by posting a video of a large empty room where the only dumbbell rack was located.

Later, in a statement attributed to Dan Gavitt, senior vice president of basketball for the NCAA, came an apology.

“I apologize to the female basketball student-athletes, coaches and the women’s basketball committee for dropping the ball on the weight rooms in San Antonio,” Gavitt said in the statement.

“The weight room has arrived! Let’s go,” the organization tweeted the Saturday.

Although fans of women’s basketball are happy that the players got their equipment, many have wondered why it took a national scandal for the situation to be resolved.

“These young student-athletes have a powerful voice,” tweeted Kelly Graves, head coach of women’s basketball at the University of Oregon. “So proud that my team, and others, stood up, spoke out wrong and played a role in the change!”