Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson tried to file a complaint with the claim that officials used a men’s ball during the first half of last Sunday’s game against the Blue Devils, but the ACC has denied the filing after an investigation.
Lawson claimed that her players complained that the ball used during the game against Florida State on Jan 29 was the larger men’s official ball, not the size the women use. A men’s college basketball weighs 29.5 ounces, while the women’s ball is slightly smaller at 28.5, the New York Post reported.
“It’s a complete failure,”Lawson has recently spoken out. “And you can figure out who the people I’m talking about that failed the sport and our players and both teams… This would never happen in a men’s game. It’s embarrassing for our sport.”
Lawson added that during the game, the ball was switched to a proper women’s ball after her complaints. Duke was defeated 23-16.
“Florida State beat us. But I can’t say if we’d have played with a women’s ball in the first half and the second half that we would have won. But they can’t say that, either,”Lawson was persistent.
The Duke coach subsequently tried to file an appeal of the game, but the NCAA denied the filing because they claimed an investigation disproved Lawson’s claim, and there is no such appeal process in the rules, anyway.
According to the ACC, it performed a “comprehensive review” into the accusations and said Lawson’s claims are groundless.
According to the conference, interviews were conducted with players and officials as well as equipment managers. “no evidence found to support the claim.”The ACC added another, “there is no appeal or protest process.”
Statement from the ACC regarding the Duke at Florida State women’s basketball game. pic.twitter.com/oRI8ZOS8YA
— ACC Women’s Basketball (@accwbb) February 3, 2023
Lawson had just taken her place as Duke’s coach in 2020 when she turned around and shut the program down because two players tested positive for the coronavirus. Duke finished the season with four losses. The team’s 2021-22 season saw a disappointing 17-13 record, with many more games cancelled by the virus.
However, this season the team has come back fighting. Today, no. With a record of 19-3, 16 Duke ranks first in the ACC.
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