Sylvia Hatchell’s decision to deny the UNC women’s basketball team an opportunity for postseason play sent the wrong message about UNC athletics.
After they weren’t invited to the NCAA tournament, the WNIT offered the Tar Heels a bid. Without consulting her players, Hatchell declined the offer.
Hatchell’s explanation for her decision was unsatisfactory: “With our record and tradition and where we finished in the conference, we should be in the NCAA.”
Whether the team deserved to be in the NCAA tournament is irrelevant. By turning down the WNIT bid, Hatchell deprived her team of valuable postseason experience and gave an impression of unwarranted haughtiness. That is hardly the Carolina Way.
Even if the Tar Heels were unfairly deprived of an NCAA bid, playing in the WNIT would have given the team more exposure. And it would have shown that Tar Heel athletes can still hold their heads high after a less-than-stellar season.
Hatchell clearly wants her team to be the best, and that’s commendable. But keeping her team from the WNIT tournament didn’t advance this goal.
