Today: Mar 28, 2024

The inequality of women’s and men’s sports

Abby EpsteinManaging Editor

Female athletes are speaking up about the unfairness between women and men sports more for the past decade. The latest issue has been how the NCAA treats women’s and men’s basketball teams at March Madness.

Sedona Prince, a forward from Oregon took to social media showing the difference in weight rooms. The women had dumbbells and yoga mats, while the men had full racks and many different types of weights. While the weight room caused the most buzz, Prince also showed the difference in food and the amount of gear given.

Many people argue women’s sports do not make as much as men’s sports, which is not wrong, but when the NCAA came out with a statement to why the women did not have a big weight room, they said it was due to the lack of space. It had nothing to do with a lack of funds.

Prince counteracted the NCAA’s statement by showing there was plenty of room. After a few days of the video going viral, the women had benches, a couple racks and extra weights. Plus, Prince shared a video of her teammates eating and enjoying the food, proving the NCAA listened and improved the women’s experience.

It should not have taken social media and broadcasting by many news stations for the NCAA to finally make a change. The women should have already had a full weight room and the same quality of food as the men did. This shows that women’s and men’s sports are not treated the same.

People also like to argue that men’s sports get more spectators and no one cares about women’s sports. Yes, men’s sports bring in more spectators, but that does not change the fact the women worked just as hard to earn their spot in the March Madness Tournament.

The NCAA did the right thing by updating the weight room and improving the food conditions instead of making more excuses. Also, I applaud them on doing it so quickly and not dragging their feet on making the change.

Women’s sports have been treated as less than men’s sports since sports have been invented. As a female athlete myself, I have experienced this firsthand. It is not only obvious by the amount of fans that attend men’s sports to women’s but also in the exposure and resources each sport receives.

Many college sports’ money comes from the university, but also how much each team raises on their own. Yes, the amounts may not be completely equal, since some teams have more players than others.

Football will need more money because they have a ton of players, but is it necessary to announce when the football team has signed their first round of new recruits when that happens for no other team?

I understand women’s and men’s sports will never be equal, but women are working and putting in just as much effort to compete. The teams that made it to March Madness on the women’s and men’s side both worked hard to earn their spot.

The women should be treated the same and have access to the same resources as the men do.

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