The differences between men’s and women’s sports are extremely apparent, especially from the equipment that each receives. Equipment can go as far as weights and dumbbells, or uniforms and items they get.
As a huge sports fan and a woman who plays sports and is going to play at the next level in college, I can watch different sporting events for hours, no matter what sport it is. However, after touring many schools, I can say there are definitely difference between men’s and women’s sporting equipment.
Often the equipment that women get are items that are left over from the men’s teams or not enough as men’s teams. During March Madness 2021, the NCAA was exposed for their weight room disparities against women. Many were outraged by this unacceptable behavior.
The whole thing started when Ali Kershner, Stanford’s sports performance coach at the time, shared a photo online of the NCAA weight rooms that they provided to the women in the NCAA tournament. Women were only provided with a set of dumbbells and yoga mats, whereas the men were provided with multiple power racks and dumbbells for powerlifting. They had this set up for about three weeks, and their dumbbells did not go above 30 pounds until the Sweet 16 matchups.
Women have fought for so long for rights, so why are we getting treated as less than men? Women’s teams can be just as good and as entertaining as men’s. The issue is people often associate sports with men. That’s what our conscience tells us.
The NCAA apologized but many people went after them, especially on X (formally Twitter and I will refer to it as Twitter). A’ja Wilson, a member of the South Carolina 2017 national championship team, who is now part of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and plays for the Las Vegas Aces, took to Twitter and tweeted, “That NCAA bubble weight room situation is beyond disrespectful.” Many more former collegiate athletes came forward to share their experiences about having not as much as their men’s teams.
The WNBA dramatically increased in popularity last year, and they finally are getting to fly on their own full-time charter flights. The WNBA pledged to put about $50 million dollars into flights for their pro athletes. Before, they had to go on regular commercial flights with bodyguards so they would not get swamped by so many people. How come it took them so long to do this for the WNBA, but got it so long ago for the National Basketball League (NBA)?
Men also tend to have higher quality sports commentating, video production, and higher quality coverage. You can scroll through the guide on your TV, and you will see some sort of men’s football, baseball or basketball game on. However, it is harder to find women’s games that are broadcasted live.
Many times you have to go through streaming apps that you have to pay for, and people do not want to pay extra money for games when they can just watch others on TV.
Overall, the disparities are unacceptable and need to stop. We need to push more than ever to be able to get what women have worked for so long. If all men and women are created equally, then why are we being treated differently in all phases of sports?
