Ego, ignorance, bias – whatever the root, every female rugby player has dealt with some level of inequitable treatment in her sport. The acknowledgement of that shared experience doesn’t justify its existence; the fight for deserved respect – among peers, in media, at national events – is a familiar battle. That battle encountered a belittling challenge during the Penn Mutual CRC, an event hosted by United World Sports, which also produces the USA 7s and Varsity Cup.

After three days of competition, rugby fans sidled up to their televisions on Sunday, May 31, awaiting the women’s final between then-two-time reigning champion Penn State and up-and-coming program Lindenwood. Instead, viewers were treated to a sideline interview with the Kutztown men’s coach, as the Women’s Championship played out in the background. There was little mention of the game that was occurring feet from the interview, and the tournament ended as if it never existed, as far as t.v. viewers were concerned. The CRC Web site posted one 100-word article on the entire tournament, and it essentially lists the semifinal and final scores.

“This was so egregious; there needed to be a wake-up call,” said Becky Carlson, head coach of Quinnipiac University’s varsity women’s rugby team. A prominent figure in the campaign to retain women’s rugby's inclusion on the NCAA Emerging Sports list, Carlson wielded the community’s outrage into an open letter to event sponsor Penn Mutual, broadcasting partner NBC Sports, and host USA Sevens (a subsidiary of United World Sports). In that letter, Carlson references a few of the voluminous complaints reported by Women’s CRC teams and their fans, the most pertinent being:

Additionally, female athletes, teams and their schools earned revenue for CRC by selling tickets months in advance in order to even be considered for the competition pool. CRC saw a 30% increase in attendance compared to last year, yet honored only one side of the game. Collecting our women’s teams’ earned funds to subsidize cost for operations and marketing only on the men’s side is a clear demonstration of blatant inequity.

The letter asks for apologies, but that is a symbolic gesture. Carlson wants to affect some change and started a petition to quantify the support for better coverage.

“We are trying to gain 10,000 signatures and also collect feedback from the players and coaches to give to both CRCs and Penn Mutual, so they have to rethink their marketing for future events.

“We also want the money returned to the players – that they sold ticket-wise – plus the costs incurred when the players had to purchase tickets as though they were average fans getting into the stadium,” Carlson added.

You can buy a shirt (here) and all of the proceeds will go toward refunding the Women’s CRC participants.

Carlson’s requests are not falling on deaf ears. The coach reported that Penn Mutual and USA Sevens have been receptive, and Carlson plans to meet with Dan Lyle in Colorado. NBC Sports, on the other hand, has not responded (and probably won't).

It will be interesting to see what, if any, changes will occur. At the very least, the CRC needs to be forthright with what women's teams can expect at the tournament. For instance, both Goff Rugby Report and individual teams had asked in advance for live-streaming information for women's pool games. Instead of responding that there would be no live-streaming - an amenity that any event worth its salt supplies - these inquiries were not fielded and teams had nothing to tell their fans.

As the campaign continues, supporters are sharing their experiences via #HerRugbyCounts. What can you do? Read the letter, sign and share the petition, and don’t buy a ticket next year if the CRC doesn’t respect its fans.