by Bruce Wolk and Chuck Gallagher (from March 16, 2022)
Sedona Prince is today’s sports ethics hero. Ironically, her heroism was unintended but as with most whistle-blowers and stand-up people, her motivation was unselfish and generous. By “generous” I need to be clear that this has little to do with money but with the treatment of women in sports.
A TikTok Firestorm
It goes back about a year ago to the NCAA tournaments.
Before I get into the subject matter, I must remind everyone of the obvious: collegiate athletes are universally not comparable to professional athletes. To be sure those (especially) who play on the D-1, NCAA tournament stage are extremely talented. However, most will never play professionally – in fact, the percentage who do on to the NBA or WNBA from collegiate ranks are infinitesimally small. In fact, less than 1 percent. Let’s get real.
So, the tired arguments about WNBA players making less because the revenues are less, etc. should not be part of this discussion. Collegiate basketball should stand alone in this argument. And, while Duke or North Carolina or Indiana basketball hold their own in terms of revenues, many of the smaller NCAA, D-1 basketball programs barely scrape-by and maintain through the good wishes of contributions from other sports and boosters.
Those are the facts of life. We all know them. Unfortunately, the NCAA and their sycophants seem to look the other way when it comes to women’s sports. Last year, Sedona Prince, a forward from the Oregon “Ducks,” made people see the obvious.
Camera in Hand
Last year’s NCAA (“Final Four”) tournaments, due to COVID were held in just two facilities to reduce any possibility of widespread infection: Indianapolis and San Antonio. Prince put together a video of the weight room areas of the men’s versus the women’s tournaments. Within minutes of posting the TikTok video it went viral – and for good reason.
Sports writer Bill Witz of the New York Times wrote of the video:
“It showed how the men, whose 2021 tournament was anchored in Indianapolis because of the coronavirus pandemic, were provided an expansive ballroom filled with free weights, hand weights and machine weights as far as the eye could see. The women? The workout facility in San Antonio, where their tournament was centered, had a thigh-high tower of 12 hand weights — and plenty of empty space.”
Keep in mind that both tournaments hosted 64 teams. The so-called women’s training area allowed for only two athletes to use the weights at one time.
It enraged Prince, and should have enraged NCAA officials, but somehow didn’t. Said Prince in an article about the tournament for USA Today Sports:
“We already know we’re getting less money, our food’s a little bit worse, our swag bags aren’t as cool. But then we see pictures of the men’s NCAA tournament bubble and they have this state-of-the-art massive weight complex and we have some dumbbells and yoga mats. Really? We’ve been working our entire lives to experience March Madness. It’s supposed to be this huge celebration of our season and our careers, and this is our reward?”
Right on the Money
Price said that one of the unintended rewards of posting the video is that she was contacted by young girls all over America who expressed their frustration at being treated like second-hand athletes. The treatment, much like the endemic infection of racism that once pervaded all aspects of sports, the unequal and unethical treatment of women is mind-boggling.
From the interviews Sedona Prince gave the media, she was terrified of the repercussions of her video. This, in itself, is extremely troubling. If anyone, anyone should have been terrified of the ramifications of the video, it should have been the clueless organizers of the NCAA women’s event.
Sedona Price is a “presence.” At 6’7” and incredibly talented, she will probably make it into the WNBA. I can just imagine her reaction when she showed up at the women’s weight room to warm up and saw the sheer disrespect of the NCAA for the women’s teams. The NCAA sort of apologized. Maybe a better approach might have been to fire those who screwed up, and to start an intensive course in gender equity.
Note from Sports Ethics Keynote Speaker and Co-Founder Chuck Gallagher: Six months after posting this, I am still struck by the inequity in women’s sports. It goes far beyond equal compensation but to basic human dignity. However, this is not limited to sports. For example, in healthcare settings from medical schools to hospitals, women are routinely faced with sexual abuse and harassment; and also as a business ethics keynote speaker, I have presented to a wide-spectrum of industries where, even in 2022, the facilities and respect shown to women is unequal.
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