CBS and TNT’s NCAA Tournament coverage has several former WNBA stars, including 2026 Hall of Fame finalist Candace Parker, and ex-WNBA All-Star Renee Montgomery.
In addition, Hall of Famer Chris Webber, and Wally Szczerbiak are working, plus the tournament’s in-studio analysts, featuring additional former college and NBA stars, such as Jamal Mashburn, ESPN’s “Inside the NBA” panelists Charles Barkley, Jalen Rose and Kenny Smith.
College Basketball Fans Say Too Much On-Air Diversity: Why Are WNBA Analysts Doing Men’s Games?
The addition of NFL analyst Nate Burleson is also puzzling to some fans, but debaters on social media seem to be most bothered by what they perceive is the network “forcing” women talent into the mix.
Apparently, some don’t want to see so much diversity of any kind on screen during March Madness. In fact, some fans feel like the broadcast team has gotten too diverse just for the sake of diversity.
“What is the need to insert a WNBA player into the mix? Has there been some huge outcry for a female studio voice during March Madness that I missed? Bring back the old white male coaches…,” one fan posted.
“Yeah I don’t get the infatuation with having female basketball “analysts” on these shows. The female game is a completely different animal than men’s basketball. I guess there are not enough male basketball analysts available so they need to reach across the gene pool,” another fan said on X.
One fan agreed, but said the old school coaches don’t have to be white. Just legendary.
“Hell put Tubby Smith or Leonard Hamilton up there, they can add something. Idk how they settled on this panel.”
Some Fans Say Forced Fed DEI Is Hurting March Madness Broadcast
The attacks on the actual definition of DEI continued int he thread.
“Double diversity and a sanctimonious plea for viewers to notice the steaming pile of sh*t that is the wnba,” one netizen quipped.
“They have to appease the violent DEI mob,” one fan commented.
“And no white people. What happened to “Diversity is our strength”?” a commenter posted.
One fan agreed:
“I’m so happy you said it because I did the other day and wondered if I was being subjective. But when the female brought nothing to the broadcast, but a Kamala laugh and chair dancing on top of the other 3, I questioned CBS’s fast and complete fall from mediocrity.”
“Where are all the white dudes?,” another complained.
It’s very hard for some people to accept change. Others just want something to complain about because every member of the March Madness broadcasting team is very capable of doing the job and talking basketball. It’s really not that serious.
