A basketball coach from an American university made some defiant comments about the need to improve the coverage of women's sport in a press-conference following his final game as a coach.
After his side Robert Morris University lost out to University of Connecticut in a tournament game at the weekend, Sal Buscaglia spoke in a press conference about the relentless drive within his squad and the determined attitude of the players, even when defeat was imminent.
"We were down by 40, 50 points and we were still fighting. So, that’s what I relayed to them, that’s what I told them: always fight."
Buscaglia, who has been coaching for 38 years, went on to explain how female athletes must adopt this philosophy in every facet of their athletic careers if they are to receive greater respect in the wider world of sport.
''There are a lot of obstacles in life [...] I told them don’t let anybody get in your way just because you’re a female. Knock those walls, jump over them. I hope in life they will go on and hear what I said and never let anybody treat them as second class. Never.''
Before departing the press-conference, he also dispensed some advice to the media to demonstrate how they have an integral role to play in improving standards of coverage for women's sport.
I transcribed Sal Buscaglia's post-game comments. His love for the women's game is incredible. pic.twitter.com/Z02vXuFhEX
— Kerith Burke (@KerithBurke) March 19, 2016
Buscaglia won 711 games in his career and guided Robert Morris to the NCAA Tournament four times.
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