The Daily Universe aptly described a dream of the BYU women’s basketball team with its media day picture featuring the ladies in “Shiny Happy Uniforms” that showed off the new school colors.
Sadly, it was only a dream.
Yes, to the surprise of many, including The Daily Universe, one team at BYU was left behind when the colors were changed. The women’s basketball team will be expected to wear the old “loyal royal” all season long.
Budget deficiencies are the excuse, but the reality is that attitudes in the administration need to change. With all the money the university is supposed to make because of the change of colors, doesn’t it make sense to allocate enough funds to make it possible for all the scholarship teams to wear the new school color?
The fact that BYU decides to break with tradition while leaving women in the past is hypocritical! Yes, women’s athletics has come a long way. The female athletes at BYU are aware of this and thankful for the changes that have enabled them to participate. But we can’t sit around and bask in our accomplishments when things just aren’t right.
The women’s basketball team isn’t asking for much. It’s not demanding an all-expense paid trip to Europe during the summer to play foreign teams. It’s not demanding more media coverage or even more money. It’s not even demanding new uniforms. No, the BYU women’s basketball team is simply going to work with their eyes set on winning the Mountain West Conference.
They can accomplish their goals in whatever color uniforms they are given. They have two returning All-WAC players and a freshman pre-season All-American. They have dedicated coaches, staff and fans. They have desire and heart.
The BYU women’s basketball team deserves respect. Respect for the up and coming team, the coaches, parents, fans and support staff. Respect for those girls who grow up dreaming to play basketball for BYU. The team deserves enforcement of Title IX. They deserve CORRECT coverage in the student newspaper. They deserve uniforms that match the school color.
The Daily Universe missed the boat on the uniform issue — but it’s not too late to start sailing. This is an important issue to address, and I hope BYU students, men and women, will unite to address a REAL issue of inequality.
Kaly Gillette
Paul, Idaho
