On February 24, Nykesha Sales set a collegiate career record at the University of Connecticut. She immersed herself in 2,178 points during her four-year battle on the hardwood. But the last two points Sales collected to break the school record were a “gift,” and her coach, Geno Auriemma said so.

Sales was quoted saying, “I wasn’t sure at first. But coach said it was a gift from him to me.”

Two points shy of the UConn record, Sales ruptured her Achilles’ tendon in a contest against Notre Dame. As Sales drove down the lane to net the record-breaking basket, her collegiate career was terminated.

A pair of unscored points needed to place her name next to a record would never be scored.

Never is a strong word. Three days later, never became weak, and Sales became the new UConn record holder.

It happened like this.

Understanding the disappointment of missing the mark, Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese and Villanova Coach Harry Perretta approved a staged shot at the beginning of the contest.

This shot would allow Sales to sink the basket needed to capture the Kerry Bascom’s record of 2,177 points (earned between 1987-91). Bascom signed a waiver allowing her record to be given to someone else.

This “kind gesture” has generated a big stir in the athletic arena.

Typically, when records are legitimately broken, the current holder doesn’t have to sign some kind of waiver. I don’t know if I would even want to break a record if I weren’t really breaking it.

However, it was only a school record, not a national or league record. Sales had already scored 2,177 points on her own. Had she had any more time on the court, she would have gotten those points.

Still, I can’t say I support the charity shot. I can say I’m glad I had nothing to do with that decision.

I guess I think the gesture shows that compassion still remains in a world that is growing less emotionally understanding. The commissioner and the coaches were acting out of kindness, allowing the “deserving” player to post a record.

However, who wants compassion based on their gender instead of their situation?

Although my thoughts about the decision itself are fuzzy, my thoughts on one particular matter are clear.

The problem I have with this whole deal is that the Big East commissioner/ “kind gesture man” plainly stated he would not let a man in the same situation have that shot.

“It’s a women’s sport; this was a female player,” Tranghese said. (Thank you Captain Obvious.)

He went on to say, “I am a man. I am not going to pretend to handle decisions on (men and women) exactly the same way.”

Did he say that out loud?

He shouldn’t have, but he did.

OK, yes, Mike, you are a man. You don’t have to pretend to handle varying gender situations the same way. We don’t want you to pretend to do something that you aren’t doing.

Instead, we want you to do something you should already be doing, which is treating the situation the same regardless of the sex of the those involved.

It’s not about the woman who received the gesture, it is about the gesture itself that you said you would deny a man.

I believe records should be earned, that’s why they’re called records.

They are accomplishments beyond the reach of mediocrity. And if the world of basketball is going to hold records in a high regard for men, why oh why are they lowering the standards for women? The record has no gender whether it belongs to a man or to a woman, it is neutral.

Tranghese acknowledges his varied treatment, and G.I. Joe (a man that Mike might actually listen to) said knowing is half the battle. Mike didn’t finish the battle the right way even though he knew. But it is almost as though it is okay to treat people differently so long as he lets everyone knows that he is not pretending to be a proprietor of justice in sports.

Maybe he forgot about Title IX.

In 1972, Congress passed Title IX so that athletic programs must provide opportunities to men and women in order to get a more even balance in sports programs. (This is a brief overview. Title IX is more detailed than this.)

I don’t believe that this “freebie” jives with this legislation. It isn’t all right to allow Sales to sink a free basket for the school record if a man in the same situation wouldn’t be given an identical opportunity.

Pat Summit, the coach of the No. 1 Tennessee women’s team, said she supported the gesture.

“I think women’s basketball may be a little different,” she told the Courant. “This is probably a reflection of it. It shows the feelings, the emotions, that are in the women’s game.”

I don’t understand how the women’s basketball league is a little different other than the bodies that are playing.

Women may be more emotional (but keep in mind that is a stereotype), but it doesn’t mean that falling two points short of a career record is not equally devastating for a man.

Heck, if we want to run with stereotypes, it would hurt a man’s ego more to miss a record by a minuscule margin, so why not give him a freebie? Wouldn’t a male coach want just as much that his outstanding male hoopster have the record?

The question then would be, would coach give Jim the shot? I don’t know. I don’t care. I just want Jim or Jane to have equal opportunities. An opportunity for balance between gender has been shot down once again.

When, if ever, will it end?

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Amanda Fier is a senior in journalism and mass communication and French from Davenport.