Simple Right and Wrong

I tend not to get that worked up very often. In fact, normally I’m pretty even-keeled in the most exciting moments of life. However, watching some decisions in the last couple of weeks has caused me more negative emotions than normal.

Twenty plus years ago, to graduate law school I wrote my final thesis/dissertation on gender equity in college athletics—specifically, the legal aspects of Title IX. I was doing my MBA work at the same time, so I overlaid the business aspects of decision making with gender equity in athletic departments in the same thesis as the final paper in my master’s work. My interest in the subject matter started way back in high school when my sister, a few years younger than me, was on the girl’s golf team and I watched as they received very few of the benefits that we enjoyed on the boys’ team. It wasn’t a legal issue when I was 18 or 19 years old as much as it was just wrong.

What’s gotten my attention, and my ire, has been watching a couple of the national championships put on by the NCAA. The issue started with the women’s basketball tournament, sequestered in San Antonio, as they were given a couple of yoga mats and a few barbells as their weight room for all 64 teams. At the same time, the men sequestered in Indianapolis, had an entire ballroom filled with state-of-the-art weight equipment. That was leaked on Twitter which led to becoming a public embarrassment. On top of that, at the exact same time, COVID testing between the two tournaments was different, the food was not equal, the player amenities were not the same, and the way in which they allocated resources for the two tournaments was poles apart.

Then, just in the last couple of days, with the NCAA volleyball tournament in my hometown of Omaha Nebraska, it was announced that the women’s volleyball teams participating would not have locker rooms, that the floors that they were practicing on were not up to standards of play, that they were playing most of the games in a convention center with 4 courts together looking more like a high school AAU tournament, and that there wouldn’t be announcers for the games for the first two rounds-- just streaming video (ESPN did announce within 24 hours a change in the announcing issue).

So from a fundraising perspective, why am I writing about this? First, The NCAA is a nonprofit, which carries the responsibility of doing good and meeting your community's needs in exchange for not paying taxes. Secondly, when I went to law school, I wanted to be the President of the NCAA. I did go into athletics early in my career but realized there was probably a different path for me. The last two weeks have made me realize how much I love what I do and the people I work with. At the same time, I’m irritated beyond belief for the lack of thought, care, and just common sense displayed by leaders when it comes to these decisions. 

It doesn’t take a law degree to know right and wrong. And the law shouldn’t be anyone’s definition of morality or ethics. What does it take for a leader to avoid these outcomes? It just takes someone thinking about it and actually giving a darn.