Lawmakers rip NCAA president, demand more equity in men’s and women’s sports

Three congressional lawmakers sent a letter Monday to the president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), accusing the organization of failing to meaningfully advance gender equality in college athletics following an external review.

In the letter, signed by Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform; Jackie Speier (D-Calif.); and Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), the lawmakers said the NCAA and its president Mark Emmert have violated “the spirit of gender equity as codified in Title IX,” the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in educational programs that receive federal financial assistance.

“You have failed to take meaningful steps to correct deficiencies identified by the committee and by an outside review, and you have failed to ensure gender equity across NCAA’s athletic programs,” the letter reads.

Sports Illustrated first obtained a copy of the letter.

The NCAA was criticized last year for providing unequal amenities in the men’s and women’s basketball teams in the Division I championship tournaments, prompting the organization to hire outside law firm Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP to investigate gender equity in the NCAA.

The firm released reports in August and October of last year, with the October report finding that the NCAA spent more for male athletes participating in its championships than it spent on female athletes in championships. Division I and national championship spending for female participants, excluding basketball, was $1,697 less in the 2018 to 2019 season than the amount for male participants, according to the report.

The October report recommended the NCAA create a standardized data system to properly review equity matters, ditch gendered branding for tournaments and championships, and increase staffing to oversee gender equality improvements, among other measures.

The NCAA said in a statement at the time that the October report had “identified important recommendations, which we will prioritize and sequence so they can be implemented for impactful change.”

“The shortcomings at the women’s basketball tournament last year have been well documented and extensively covered. Although our work is not done, we are focused on the many improvements made since then that provide students across all our championships with a lifelong memorable experience,” an NCAA official said in a statement to The Hill on Tuesday.

But the lawmakers on Monday accused the NCAA of not following through on the review’s recommendations. They found fault with a “gender equity updates” webpage on the NCAA website that they said is “not comprehensive,” and said that the organization had not only failed to implement several key changes Kaplan had suggested, but had “failed to commit” to making the changes, too.

Ahead of March Madness, the organization earlier this month said it had spent “millions more” on women’s games and that it had “taken every budget line” for the men’s and women’s championships for comparison.

Two significant changes this year were the NCAA’s branding of the women’s basketball tournament as March Madness and the expansion of the number of participating teams in the women’s tournament.

But lawmakers said some of the changes have been more for show than they have been actual, structural adjustments, according to the letter.

“NCAA appears to have prioritized implementing recommendations related to higher visibility college sports, such as the March Madness basketball championships, while failing to address gender inequities in sports with lower public visibility,” the letter reads.

“Although NCAA has taken some short-term steps to avoid repeating the public relations catastrophe during last year’s March Madness championships, it has been notably slow to commit to or implement recommendations that will ensure structural, long-term changes to advance gender equity,” the letter continued.