Sedona Prince - Advocate for Women in Sports

We’ve all had the adrenaline rush of going to a basketball game. It’s a feeling like no other. All the crowded seats, the joy on everyone's face, the competitive teams with aggressive fans along with cheerleaders. It feels most special when you go with your friends or family. However, basketball hasn’t always been like it is now. This sport was originally dominated by men. There wasn't an official women’s league until 1978. In society, women in sports are sometimes frowned upon. They are seen as too masculine, not as good, or not strong enough.

In 1978 women began playing in their own National Basketball League; however, they haven't been given the same recognition and opportunities as men have despite their terrific talents. For example, at the NCAA women's tournament (also known as March Madness) back in 2021, right after things settled down from the spread of COVID-19, a series of games were played and the remaining top two teams competed for the championship.  During this tournament, the men’s collegiate basketball teams stayed in nice hotels, got catered meals, and had loads of equipment and staff looking after them. In contrast, the women who played during this tournament had average hotels, frozen pre-packaged food, and a set of dumbbells in an empty gym to “workout” in. A women’s athlete who played for Oregon State in this tournament, Sedona Prince, released several tweets and spoke out on other social media platforms showing the mistreatment in this tournament. Once she spoke out, along with others, the media became furious. Big celebrities like A’ja Wilson, Stephen Curry, and Natasha Cloud took this to heart which led them to confront the NCAA. The League faced several days of backlash and then proceeded to say it was a “space issue and not money.” Sedona clapped back with a video showing all of the space they had in an empty gym. Problems like this occur too often and need to be acknowledged. Thankfully the NCAA finally started to input proper facilities for the women after this occurred. 

I appreciate women like Sedona Prince for using her platform to speak up and want others to recognize her for her brave efforts. If she hadn't, this wrongful act wouldn’t have been resolved or even addressed. Her taking a stand encouraged others to do so. As I had mentioned before, problems like this have always occurred and probably will continue unless we take a stand like Sedona did!