Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon speaks out on ‘gross’ inequalities between NCAA men and women

SAN ANTONIO – Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon does not post on social media very often but shared her thoughts on some of the NCAA men and women inequalities that were exposed late last week.

Hammon posted two photos on Friday afternoon that showed the disparity between the men’s and women’s workout areas at their respective NCAA tournaments in Indiana and San Antonio.

The NCAA was criticized after multiple videos and photos surfaced on social media from players and coaches, noting that the men’s and women’s weight rooms were not equal.

Hammon captioned the photos on Instagram writing in part, “this unfortunately is nothing new, but keep calling this out for what it is…gross. This is only a fraction of what inequality looks like. I have so much more to say on this, but it’s game day and there’s plenty of work to do!”

The NCAA has since claimed full responsibility and apologized for the lack of workout equipment for the women’s tournament. As of Saturday, players were given access to a fully-stocked weight room, according to the Associated Press. ESPN shared photos over the weekend of the new weight room for the women’s teams in San Antonio.

The NCAA also added that San Antonio was not to blame for the oversight.

“I want to emphasize that the City of San Antonio and its community has done an absolutely tremendous job preparing for, being ready, and just embracing our championship being here. The issues that have been noted are the responsibility of the NCAA. They’re not the responsibility of the City of San Antonio. They have conducted Women’s Final Fours, Men’s Final Fours in the past and other NCAA championships, and I’m sure they will in the future,” Lynn Holzman, NCAA vice president, said in an interview with ESPN.

Hammon is one of the most recognizable voices in women’s athletics and sports in general. She has broken gender barriers in basketball as an assistant with the Spurs since 2014. Hammon, who played collegiately at Colorado State, commended the women’s players and coaches who spoke out on the disparities.

“Stay tuned and keep the fire! These ladies that spoke up, that’s what leadership looks like! Keep exposing and talking about the truth!” Hammon wrote.

As of Monday morning, the post had been liked more than 8,700 times and garnered more than 120 comments.

Also on KSAT:

• Weighty issue: Inequity raised in women’s, men’s tourneys
• NCAA admits falling ‘short’ in preparations for women’s tournament in San Antonio after viral tweet
• NCAA apologizes to women’s teams for weight room inequities