Seriously, block my shooting: March madness, gender inequality and playing in Wilson

“That’s what I always talk about … female basketball is not only good. It has been good. ” – Caitlin Clark

In a school like Duke, March can only be associated with one thing: the iconic tournament of sixty -four of the team, full of Cinderella stories, crazy disorders and unprecedented clashes, appropriate for the madness of March. His acclamation of the campus is well founded, since Duke’s male basketball team has made 46 appearances in the tournament Since 1955which includes 17 final appearances four, 11 appearances in the National Championship and 5 victories in the National Championship. This season, the male team has attracted a lot Recent AP survey.

Although the male team, and male university basketball in general, have always attracted national attention, female basketball has recently reached a new stage, thanks to players like Candace Parker, Paige Bueckers and, of course, Caitlin Clark. There has been a remarkable cultural change in recent years, driven by structural changes such as NCAA that allows the women’s tournament to also use the “MADNESS of March” brand in 2022, after approximately 40 years of the name being used exclusively for men, a clear symbol of gender inequality Inside the sport. Certain reference points also, such as the 2024 Women’s Championship (South Carolina vs. Iowa) that receive more than 18.7 million viewers, 4 million viewers more than the male championship – It seems to indicate a new wave of female sports.

Although we finally seem to overcome the hump of thinking that seeing a female basketball game or being able to name more than one WNBA team buys you Brownie feminist points, it seems that we are moving towards a culture that normalizes women’s sports as sports, simple and simple, there is still work to do. The question of unequal payment in sports is not new, but it is still relevant as always. While WNBA is a younger and smaller league and generates a lower income than the NBA, the inequitable agreements of income exchange remain a problem. The NBA pays its players an average of 49-51% of the revenue of the League, while the WNBA players take home a maximum of 22.8%.

Even on our own campus, the gender division among sports is palpable. Only this year, 2,652 studentsApproximately 41% of the undergraduate population took the tents test, fighting for the opportunity to camp for weeks to see Duke face UNC. This game filled Cameron inside its capacity of 9,314 occupants, packing in more than 1,600 university students in the Student section. Relatively, The female rivalry game Versus UNC, both best AP teams at that time, attracted only 7,010 attendees and boasted a fairly disappointing performance of the Crazies Cameron in the Student Section.

But what does this have to do with Wilson Gym? For me, this is where these issues begin everything: on the collection court. With a humble 5’5 ”, along with a quite quiet and unpretentious behavior, it is possible that it does not seem like a person familiar with the drainage of three and cleaning the shoes in the free throw line. But I spent my right part of time and I have become too familiar with the feeling of entering a gym like the only girl. There is nothing like standing on the line, knowing that you have played in the university team for four years in high school, knowing that you have a step back, knowing that you know the rules, since people choose teams and inevitably leaves you finally, until one of the boys sighs and says: “I will take the girl.”

My experiences playing in Wilson have not been openly negative, but if we believe in encouraging the participation of women in basketball, we must address these little barriers, sometimes even silent, within our own community here on campus. In games often dominated by men, I often have to have a higher performance, writing down more points and making fewer mistakes, to receive the same recognition as my male counterparts. If I lose a shot, it is often the last time I will touch the ball for the rest of the game, while the boys can usually bark some trays or three triples and still pass the ball on me.

There are also excessive corrections, where girls are treated too gently or even slightly sponsored. I have spent the pity ball, as almost last resort, only to surprise my team of boys when I make the basket. I have had the boys who do not play a true defense while protecting me for fear of offending with a blow or thrust. I have had people who complain that girls who want to play in the statement that compromises the competitiveness of the game.