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[Updated] NCAA Called Out for Disparities Between Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament Accommodations

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2 years ago

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  • The NCAA came under fire Thursday after viral images showed the glaring difference in weight room accommodations at its men’s and women’s basketball tournament sites.
  • The photos showed that men’s teams had access to several rows of heavy-duty weight lifting equipment while the women’s weight room consisted of six pairs of dumbbells under 30 pounds and a stack of yoga mats.
  • The organization responded by promising to enhance the women’s workout setup and blamed its current state on “limited space,” though many rejected that claim, including Oregon player Sedona Prince, who posted a viral TikTok showing the vast amount of open room at the practice facility.
  • Both NBA and WNBA stars have slammed the unequal accommodations, with other critics also pointing to the significantly smaller “swag bags” women’s teams were given in comparison to the men’s teams.

Viral Weight Room Photos Spark Criticism

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is facing intense backlash after several basketball coaches, players, and fans criticized clear disparities between amenities at its men’s and women’s basketball tournament sites.

On Thursday, Stanford Sports Coach Ali Kershner posted shocking photos specifically comparing the women’s and men’s basketball weight rooms. The men’s room featured rows and rows of weight lifting equipment. Meanwhile, the women’s weight room (if it can even be considered that) consisted of six pairs of dumbbells and a stack of yoga mats.

“This needs to be addressed,” Kershner wrote in her Instagram post caption after tagging the organization and its affiliated basketball accounts.

“These women want and deserve to be given the same opportunities. Not only that – 3 weeks in a bubble and no access to [dumbbells] above 30’s until the sweet 16? In a year defined by a fight for equality this is a chance to have a conversation and get better.”

That post went viral, drawing in criticism from everyday college basketball fans as well as several WNBA players.

Chantel Jennings, a reporter for The Athletic, also released a list of the equipment the final 16 women’s teams were set to gain access to at that stage in the tournament, which was still far less impressive than what the men’s teams already had access to.

NCAA’s Response Draw More Outrage

The growing backlash eventually prompted the NCCA Vice Present of Women’s Basketball, Lynn Holzman, to issue a statement.

“We acknowledge that some of the amenities teams would typically have access to have not been as available inside the controlled environment,” Holzman said in a post shared to the organization’s social media.

“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.

However, that claim about “limited space” was quickly rejected by people like Will Abrams, the director of player development for the Rutgers women’s team.

He posted a response video giving a glimpse at the vast amount of space available at the women’s practice facility.

That same criticism was echoed by Oregon player Sedona Prince, who posted a now-viral TikTok exposing just how much room was available.

“If you aren’t upset about this problem, then you’re a part of it,” Prince said in the post.

That TikTok was even shared by NBA star Stephen Curry. Meanwhile, reporter Jemele Hill posted a screenshot reminding people of the $500 million deal ESPN and the NCAA agreed to that included broadcasting the women’s tournament.

Other Disparities

Others on social media also noted that the differences in how men’s and women’s teams are treated extend beyond just weight rooms. In fact, many even pointed to images of the “swag bags” provided to players at both tournaments, which showed that the men had been given a large number of items custom-designed for this year’s March Madness tournament. The women’s bag, by contrast, included only a few generic items, including a 150-piece puzzle and a towel that said “NCAA women’s basketball.”

Others pointed to the differences between food options given to women’s and men’s teams.


More outrage spread when reporters learned about differences in the COVID-19 tests being used at each tournament. Women’s teams reportedly take antigen tests while men’s teams take PCR tests. According to the FDA, antigen tests give quick results, but they “have a higher chance of missing an active infection.” Meanwhile, PCR tests are considered “the gold standard” for COVID testing by many medical professionals.


The NCAA caught flack for defending that choice and saying there was no risk difference between the tests.
However, it did say that it followed recommendations from its medical advisory group and collaborated with the CDC as well as local medical authorities for its testing policy. The NCAA’s medical advisory group had advised that either daily PCR or antigen tests were “equally effective models for basketball championships.”

With outrage growing, NCAA Senior VP of Basketball Dan Gavitt apologized for the weight room discrepancies in a Zoom call Friday. He promised to get the facility upgraded as soon as possible, which happened over the weekend.

During that call, other differences were brought up, like the fact that there are 68 teams in the men’s field and only 64 in the women, and the fact that the NCAA pays for the men’s National Invitation Tournament, but not the women’s NIT.

The organization ultimately promised to do better, but conversations about sexism in the sports world have continued, with teams and players continuing to speak out.

Stanford’s basketball coach, for instance, issued a statement saying, “Women athletes and coaches are done waiting, not just for upgrades of a weight room, but for equity in every facet of life.”

“With the obvious disparity between the women’s and men’s tournaments, the message that is being sent to our female athletes, and women across the world, is that you are not valued at the same level as your counterparts. That is wrong and unacceptable.”

See what others are saying: (The Washington Post) (Fox News) (Sports Illustrated)

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White Supremacist Propaganda Reached Record High in 2022, ADL Finds

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2 weeks ago

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March 9, 2023

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 “We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said.

White supremacist propaganda in the U.S. reached record levels in 2022, according to a report published Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center of Extremism.

The ADL found over 6,700 cases of white supremacist propaganda in 2022, which marks a 38% jump from the nearly 4,900 cases the group found in 2021. It also represents the highest number of incidents ever recorded by the ADL. 

The propaganda tallied by the anti-hate organization includes the distribution of racist, antisemitic, and homophobic flyers, banners, graffiti, and more. This propaganda has spread substantially since 2018, when the ADL found just over 1,200 incidents. 

“There’s no question that white supremacists and antisemites are trying to terrorize and harass Americans with their propaganda,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash.” 

The report found that there were at least 50 white supremacist groups behind the spread of propaganda in 2022, but 93% of it came from just three groups. One of those groups was also responsible for 43% of the white supremacist events that took place last year. 

White supremacist events saw a startling uptick of their own, with the ADL documenting at least 167, a 55% jump from 2021. 

Propaganda was found in every U.S. state except for Hawaii, and events were documented in 33 states, most heavily in Massachusetts, California, Ohio, and Florida.

“The sheer volume of white supremacist propaganda distributions we are documenting around the country is alarming and dangerous,” Oren Segal, Vice President of the ADL’s Center on Extremism said in a statement. “Hardly a day goes by without communities being targeted by these coordinated, hateful actions, which are designed to sow anxiety and create fear.”

“We need a whole-of-society approach to combat this activity, including elected officials, community leaders, and people of good faith coming together and condemning this activity forcefully,” Segal continued. 

See what others are saying: (Axios) (The Hill) (The New York Times)

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Adidas Financial Woes Continue, Company on Track for First Annual Loss in Decades

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2 weeks ago

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March 8, 2023

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Adidas has labeled 2023 a “transition year” for the company. 

Yeezy Surplus 

Adidas’ split with musician Kanye West has left the company with financial problems due to surplus Yeezy products, putting the sportswear giant in the position to potentially suffer its first annual loss in over 30 years. 

Adidas dropped West last year after he made a series of antisemitic remarks on social media and other broadcasts. His Yeezy line was a staple for Adidas, and the surplus product is due, in part, to the brand’s own decision to continue production during the split.

According to CEO Bjorn Gulden, Adidas continued production of only the items already in the pipeline to prevent thousands of people from losing their jobs. However, that has led to the unfortunate overabundance of Yeezy sneakers and clothes. 

On Wednesday, Gulden said that selling the shoes and donating the proceeds makes more sense than giving them away due to the Yeezy resale market — which has reportedly shot up 30% since October.

“If we sell it, I promise that the people who have been hurt by this will also get something good out of this,” Gulden said in a statement to the press. 

However, Gulden also said that West is entitled to a portion of the proceeds of the sale of Yeezys per his royalty agreement.

The Numbers 

Adidas announced in February that, following its divergence from West, it is facing potential sales losses totaling around $1.2 billion and profit losses of around $500 million. 

If it decides to not sell any more Yeezy products, Adidas is facing a projected annual loss of over $700 million.

Outside of West, Adidas has taken several heavy profit blows recently. Its operating profit reportedly fell by 66% last year, a total of more than $700 million. It also pulled out of Russia after the country’s invasion of Ukraine last year, which cost Adidas nearly $60 million dollars. Additionally, China’s “Zero Covid” lockdowns last year caused in part a 36% drop in revenue for Adidas compared to years prior.

As a step towards a solution, Gulden announced that the company is slashing its dividends from 3.30 euros to 0.70 euro cents per share pending shareholder approval. 

Adidas has labeled 2023 a “transition year” for the company. 

“Adidas has all the ingredients to be successful. But we need to put our focus back on our core: product, consumers, retail partners, and athletes,” Gulden said. “I am convinced that over time we will make Adidas shine again. But we need some time.”

See what others are saying: (The Washington Post) (The New York Times) (CNN)

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Immigration Could Be A Solution to Nursing Home Labor Shortages

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2 weeks ago

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March 7, 2023

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98% of nursing homes in the United States are experiencing difficulty hiring staff. 

The Labor Crisis 

A recent National Bureau of Economic Research paper has offered up a solution to the nursing home labor shortage: immigration. 

According to a 2022 American Health Care Association survey, six in ten nursing homes are limiting new patients due to staffing issues. The survey also says that 87% of nursing homes have staffing shortages and 98% are experiencing difficulty hiring. 

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) outlined in their paper that increased immigration could help solve the labor shortage in nursing homes. Immigrants make up 19% of nursing home workers.

With every 10% increase in female immigration, nursing assistant hours go up by 0.7% and registered nursing hours go up by 1.1% And with that same immigration increase, short-term hospitalizations of nursing home residents go down by 0.6%.

The Solution 

Additionally, the State Department issued 145% more EB-3 documents, which are employment-based visas, for healthcare workers in the 2022 fiscal year than in 2019, suggesting that more people are coming to the U.S. to work in health care. 

However, according to Skilled Nursing News, in August of 2022, the approval process from beginning to end for an RN can take between seven to nine months. 

Displeasure about immigration has exploded since Pres. Joe Biden took office in 2021. According to a Gallup study published in February, around 40% of American adults want to see immigration decrease. That is a steep jump from 19% in 2021, and it is the highest the figure has been since 2016.

However, more than half of Democrats still are satisfied with immigration and want to see it increased. But with a divided Congress, the likelihood of any substantial immigration change happening is pretty slim. 

See what others are saying: (Axios) (KHN) (Skilled Nursing News)

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