Yesterday (dot #4237), I described the debacle around the incorrect 3-point line at the Women’s NCAA Tournament. Once the error was pointed out, the pointing of fingers began. The NCAA blamed the company they hired to provide the court. The court supplier blamed the company that painted the lines. That company pointed fingers at the flooring company which incorrectly drilled a center hole used for measurements. There was more blame than basketball in Portland.
As the Washington Post reported: “At first, the NCAA blamed Connor Sports, the vendor for hardwood floors in the women’s and men’s tournaments. But on Monday, both the NCAA and Connor Sports — in separate statements — called the mistake a human error by a Portland-based company contracted to finish the court.”
Such a misguided focus on finding someone else to blame when the ownership of this should fall squarely on the NCAA.
Harry Truman received flack for his “The Buck Stops Here” plaque but he knew that the ultimate responsibility fell on his shoulders. As it does with the sponsor of the tournament — the one making millions from ticket and broadcasting revenue. To even look for a scapegoat is appalling.
If you’re the one at the top — the one who benefits if things go well — then accept that you are the one at the front if things go in a different direction. The only one to blame stares at you in the mirror.
Source: NCAA women’s tournament game played on court with incorrect three-point line by Jesse Dougherty, The Washington Post, April 1, 2024.
