Vice President Kamala Harris recently claimed the NCAA did not allow brackets in women’s basketball tournaments until 2022.
Sports Fan Kamala Harris claims the NCAA women’s basketball tournament was “not allowed to have brackets until 2022.”
As usual, she is wrong. pic.twitter.com/QaRSsngSxP
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 5, 2024
The claim is inaccurate. NCAA women’s Division I basketball tournaments have used a bracket-oriented format since 1982.
Harris commented on a recent phone call she and President Joe Biden had with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, The Times of Israel reported. Harris claimed that Israel must change its approach in the conflict with Gaza, adding that if they don’t, “it’s very likely we’re going to change our approach.”
The Republican National Committee shared a video of Harris on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which she claimed that brackets were not allowed in Women’s tournaments until recently. In the video, Harris faces a reporter while speaking in front of an American flag.
She said, “OK a bit of a history lesson. Do you know that the women’s teams were not allowed to have a bracket until 2022?”
The claim is inaccurate. Harris shared a post of her filled out bracket in 2021 while she was Vice President. She and her husband shared images of their bracket on X at the time.
So you went with #1 seeds. I thought you were a fan of #2s! https://t.co/lYGnY4lT9B
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) March 18, 2021
Mediaite reported that Harris did tell them she misspoke and meant to say that they were not allowed to use “March Madness” branding. This is accurate. In 2022 women’s Division 1 championship was allowed to use March Madness branding, according to The Athletic.
Check Your Fact contacted both the White House and Harris’s office for clarification on this claim. We will update this piece if a response is provided.
