At the NCAA tournament, the women's weight room went from a single rack of dumbbells and some yoga mats to a fully stocked weight room, after photos and videos went viral on social media showing the lack of amenities for the women compared to the men.
"As a former athlete who played in that and got to experience that, the experience is everything so for those young ladies to have to experience that and see that there still is a big difference, that's sad," Rashonta LeBlanc said, Temple ISD's girls athletic coordinator and head girls basketball coach.
LeBlanc played basketball player at LSU and made it to the NCAA Final Four every year that she was in college. She said she didn't notice the inequities back then.
"It wasn't until I got older that I really started to notice the difference in how things played out just from hearing different stories and kind of what our guys were doing," LeBlanc said, "and I was like wow so they have a different experience than I had even though we were at the same school."
LeBlanc said social media is making us more aware of the difference in how women and men are still treated. She said it's not that women in sports need to necessarily be equal, but that they do need to be equitable and that's what she strives for at Temple ISD.
"I think that the misconception is that it has to be equal, so not that it had to be the same as what the men's had but it should have definitely been more than what they gave us," LeBlanc said.
She said an incident like this one shouldn't have happened to begin with, but it gives women the courage to speak up for what's right.
"Fight for what you think you deserve, if you think you deserve it don't put a limit on yourself and go get it," LeBlanc said.
She adds that her hope is young girls and women continue to fight for equity not just in sports but in the workplace as well.