As complaints of gender inequity mount, NCAA President Mark Emmert agrees to a review
Source: Washington Post
College Basketball
As complaints of gender inequity mount, NCAA President Mark Emmert agrees to a review
By Glynn A. Hill, Des Bieler and Cindy Boren
March 24, 2021 at 11:04 a.m. EDT
Amid mounting pressure from players, coaches and administrators over differences between the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, NCAA President Mark Emmert on Tuesday wrote that he would be calling for “an independent review” of the processes that led to the disparities.
Emmert’s letter, which was obtained by The Washington Post, arrived in the wake of sharpening criticism that started late last week when players took to social media to note the differences between what men’s and women’s participants were being provided in terms of meals, fitness facilities and even coronavirus testing. NCAA officials acknowledged those differences as an “operational miss” and sought to remedy some of them, but that did little to stem a steady tide of outrage.
On Tuesday, Georgia Tech women’s basketball coach Nell Fortner tweeted a message wryly thanking the NCAA for exposing the disparities.
“Thank you for using the three biggest weeks of your organization’s year to expose exactly how you feel about women’s basketball — an afterthought,” she wrote. “Thank you for showing off the disparities between the men’s and women’s tournament that are on full display in San Antonio, from coronavirus testing, to lack of weight training facilities, to game floors that hardly tell anyone that it’s the NCAA Tournament and many more. But these disparities are just a snapshot of larger, more pervasive issues when it come to women’s sports and the NCAA. Shipping in a few racks of weights, after the fact, is not an answer. It’s a Band-Aid and an afterthought.”
Link to tweet
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Molly Hensley-Clancy contributed to this report.
Glynn A. Hill
Glynn is a general assignment and breaking news reporter for The Washington Post. He previously worked for the Houston Chronicle, where he covered business, education, government and sports. Follow https://twitter.com/Glynn_Hill
Des Bieler
Des Bieler is a staff writer in Sports who covers a wide variety of topics, including fantasy football. He first settled in at The Post in 1995 and has proved difficult to dislodge. Follow https://twitter.com/DesBieler
Cindy Boren
Cindy Boren arrived at The Post in 2000 as an assignment editor in charge of baseball and NFL/Washington Football Team coverage. She switched to full-time writing, focusing on national sports stories and issues, when she founded The Early Lead blog in 2010. Follow https://twitter.com/cindyboren
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As complaints of gender inequity mount, NCAA President Mark Emmert agrees to review
Link to tweet