Indiana WBB coach calls Vegas tourney 'major miss' that set back women's basketball
Indiana women's basketball coach Teri Moren was frustrated at the organizers of the Las Vegas Invitational at the Mirage Hotel this past weekend for supplying such a subpar, fan-unfriendly setup for the women's basketball teams that came to play in the tournament. And beyond the frustration, Moren felt the tournament was a step back for the entire sport.
“What’s disappointing is the aesthetics. It’s not a fan-friendly environment," Moren said via the Indianapolis Star. "As women’s basketball coaches, we’re trying to move our game forward. It felt like, because it got so many ticks on social, that we’d taken a couple steps backward in this moment. We have an obligation to grow our game, and we completely missed on this opportunity. You have a lot of really good teams that are here representing their conferences. I see all these other tournaments going on, and footage of that. This was a major miss in my opinion in terms of helping to grow this game.”
The event was held in a large basement ballroom, the type that would be used for a keynote speech at a professional conference, which Moren said she had no problem with. But there were no bleachers for fans (just folding chairs), no security, and according to the Indy Star, the scoreboards were just two TVs. Here's a picture of what the room looked like.
It’s time for basketball in Vegas! No. 6/5 Indiana (5-0) takes on Auburn (3-1).
Tip will be later than scheduled. Likely sometime between 6:15-6:30. Check us out on @WHCC105 and https://t.co/PNIlo97ABn. And oh yeah, the stream is free! #iuwbb pic.twitter.com/viqbnAZMAn— Austin Render (@AustinRender) November 26, 2022
And this is how it was supposed to look.
Teams were told this would be the setup — which the athletes unlimited women’s basketball pro league used. https://t.co/C0qelK8pl0 pic.twitter.com/YgSXg9gnyo
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) November 26, 2022
Quite a difference! As one Twitter reply said: "Promised the Bellagio... got the Red Roof Inn off the strip."
Injury scare with no EMTs on site
And beyond the setup, there was also a safety issue. On Saturday, an injury in the game between Auburn and Colorado State led to the Indiana-Memphis game being postponed for nearly 90 minutes. Auburn player Kharyssa Richardson fell hard on her back and appeared to hit her head, and required medical attention due to the possibility of a neck injury. But no paramedics were on site, so she stayed on her back on the court for nearly an hour while EMTs made their way to the hotel. Auburn later said that Richardson was alert and responsive.
“Any good tournament has EMT, all of that, medical professionals on site. It wasn’t the case. Another big miss for this tournament,” Moren said via the Indy Star. “There were a lot of things that should have been better, and they just weren’t. That was a little bit frustrating. If the shoe was on the other foot and that was my kid, I would be very frustrated. I was very frustrated having to watch that moment for Auburn."
Tourney draws criticism on social media
As Moren mentioned out, this story got a lot of notice on social media, with people pointing out yet again the major disparities between how men's and women's basketball are treated.
This whole Las Vegas invitational is an absolute mess. Misleading the teams about the venue, and the inequity of it in general, is embarrassing. This, however, is a whole new level of mismanagement. Disgraceful. https://t.co/U1L5PlLjlD
— Alexander Hynes (@HynesAS) November 27, 2022
The fact the Las Vegas Invitational had these Division I Power 5 programs playing in a flipping ballroom was ridiculous as is.....NOW they don't even have medical personnel on site. 45 minute response time before she was stretchered out?!?
Absolute negligence.😠 https://t.co/wEwgtQo8ZM— Shelby Hilliard 🌵 (@ShelCEHill) November 27, 2022
The disaster of the Las Vegas Invitational for Women’s College Basketball is a microcosm of what happens around the country every day in different ways.
Equity = investment & support of the sport to provide opportunities
Do better. Be better. Demand better.— Sarah Temple Deffebach, M.S. (@SarahTDeffebach) November 27, 2022
The NCAA seriously needs to look into this absolutely horrendous, pathetic "Las Vegas Invitational" women's basketball event.
Court literally in a CONFERENCE ROOM. No bleachers, no fans.
Tonight, Auburn's game was delayed due to an injury and it took EMS 40 MINUTES to ARRIVE.— Rob Connett (@RobConnett1) November 27, 2022
Y’all there was a FIFTY-FIVE minute game delay due to injury at the Las Vegas Invitational.
This would never happen at a men’s tournament. Invest in women’s sports and women’s health.— Squid 🦚 (@AUSquid) November 27, 2022
Pretty sure the folks involved in the production of this Las Vegas Invitational should never, ever, ever be in the position of being responsible for a sporting event again. https://t.co/lTbKsXMaPO
— Alligator Army (@AlligatorArmy) November 27, 2022
Tournament director Bryce McKey was not on site at the Mirage during the event, but was instead in Daytona, Fla. for a different tournament. He has not commented on the numerous criticisms of the Las Vegas Invitational, but site coordinator Ryan Polk offered an apology.
"We're very sorry," Polk said via ESPN. "The court and the lighting, that stuff hasn't been an issue. But we needed to have full-on bleachers. We have notified The Mirage we won't be coming back again. This is a one-time disaster in terms of events. It definitely did not go the way we thought or planned. We just severely missed the mark when comes to the spectator side."
