"God forbid it might hurt men's basketball" - Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian revisits NCAA not allowing women to use 'March Madness' tag

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian recently expressed his disappointment with the negligence women's sports face and how ignoring them was a huge business failure. The American is a huge advocate for women's sports and has made plenty of investments for its growth.

Speaking at the 2024 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, he listed out some of the issues women athletes faced, including the restriction on the use of the term 'March Madness', and a weight room debacle where women weren't given enough space during the tournaments.

'March Madness' is the NCAA Division I basketball tournament and it was a term exclusively used for the men's bracket till 2021.

"The NCAA would not let the women use March Madness up until a few years ago. You remember the weight room debacle, a player posting this janky corner of a weight room during the tournament."

The 41-year-old explained that when people look back on this, they will not only see the underlying racism and sexism, but also lament the missed business opportunities.

"And what's crazy is that when people look back on this, the underinvestment in women's sports will not just be a legacy of sexism and racism, it can be gross business incompetence," Serena Williams' husband said.

The weight debacle Alexis Ohanian was referring to was from 2021 when Oregon's Sedona Prince shot a video showing the difference in the facilities provided to men and women during the NCAA basketball tournament. This sparked a huge revolution and brought a welcoming change as by next year the women's gym facilities were upgraded.

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian also expressed his disapproval of how such incredible talent which brought traction to sports wasn't even allowed to use 'March Madness' or given proper facilities. However, he claimed that the increasing popularity of women's sports would lead to more revenue and people pay attention whenever money is involved.

"This is about the fact that there is incredible talent that drives attention that couldn't even get a weight room, that couldn't even say March Madness because god forbid it might hurt the brand for men's college basketball."

"That's fine, the free market's speaking loud and clear. And folks catch up real quick when the dollars are involved."

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"Just getting started" - When Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian applauded President Joe Biden's views on women's sports

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian

Back in May, President Joe Biden tweeted about how people needed to show up for women's sports all year round rather than just during the championships for its growth.

"As a nation, we need to support women’s sports by showing up in person and watching on TV – with more sponsorships and programming. Not just during championships. But all year round. Let's grow women’s sports and continue inspiring the nation."

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian applauded the president's views and claimed that 'women's sports were just getting started'.

"👏👏👏 just getting started"

Alexis Ohanian co-owns the women's soccer team Angel City FC and has invested in the women's sports bar 'Sports Bra' to name a few of his efforts in promoting women's sports.