EAST AURORA, N.Y. (WKBW) — The East Aurora girls varsity basketball team is saying "game over" to gender inequality when it comes to game venues.
The boys team, their counterpart, plays their semifinals on the courts of Buffalo State University.
This left Megan Cassidy and Jada Tresmond, co-captains of the girls team, wondering why their team plays the semifinals in a high school gym.
To voice their frustrations, Cassidy and Tresmond started a petition — requesting that girls play at Buffalo State, or any college court, for their semifinals.
"Don't accept what's always been going on," Cassidy said. "If you see something that isn't right, if you see something needs to change, ask for that change."
The petition has garnered over 1,800 signatures in less than a month.
"It just shows the support Western New York has for girls basketball," Cassidy said. "It shows that people really do care about this sport as much as we do, and it's really rewarding to see all the support we've gotten."
The girls team is heading to Buffalo State this Sunday for the Section VI basketball finals, but Tresmond said a prior trip could've been helpful.
"It would be nice to have two games there. It would get us used to the court faster — all the stuff that the boys have, we don't have that advantage," she said. "It's very different playing at a high school to a college, and I've never gone to Buffalo State before ..."
Gary Schutrum, head coach of the girls basketball program, said if these players can make it to the big dance, they deserve a big reward.
"Everybody supports you [at a college venue], and you feel like you made it," he said. "We worked hard for four months, and here we are — and now we get to play at a college venue."
Even though Tresmond is graduating this year, she hopes to see her hard work pay off for future players.
"The team means the most to me," she said. "So seeing the underclassmen in our team thrive, it would make me so happy. I would go to all of their games."
Coach Schutrum said this petition speaks volumes about the character of this team and its co-captains.
“They’re outstanding leaders both on and off the court. The team chemistry and the team bond that they’ve established this year has been second to none," Schutrum said. “I’m just so proud of them and so proud that they’re willing to stand up for something they truly believe in.”
You can sign the petition here.
