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On Thursday, the ACC said there was “no evidence found” to support Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson’s allegations that a men’s basketball was used in the first half of Sunday’s game against Florida State. The league said in a statement released Friday morning that it had conducted a “thorough and objective review process” that began after the completion of Sunday’s game. Here’s what you need to know:

• Duke lost to Florida State on Sunday, 70-57, in Tallahassee, Fla. The game featured two of the league’s title contenders, and is expected to factor heavily into determining the eventual ACC regular-season champion.
• Lawson first publicly mentioned her allegations on Thursday night — five days after the game in question — following Duke’s win over Pittsburgh. Lawson’s postgame news conference concluded before, according to multiple reports, she told the assembled media she had something else to say.
• Both the Blue Devils and the Seminoles shot better in the second half than the first (11 percent for Duke and 15 percent for FSU). Lawson emphasized Thursday that the ball did not dictate the outcome of the game.
• A women’s basketball weighs 2 ounces lighter than a men’s ball, and its circumference is also about 1 inch smaller. When reached for comment on Friday, in response to the ACC’s statement, a Duke spokesperson referred The Athletic to Lawson’s original comments from Thursday evening.

Backstory

According to Lawson, at halftime of her team’s eventual loss to Florida State, Duke assistant coach Winston Gandy asked the scorer’s table to review the ball that both teams played with in the first half. Officials determined that there was no problem with the ball, but after further inquiry by Duke’s staff, changed the ball for the second half out of an abundance of caution.

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An investigation into the allegations began after the conclusion of the game, albeit not publicly. “This included discussion with all parties involved, including game officials, game administrators, table crew and both schools,” the league said in its statement Friday. In addition to discussions with all involved parties, per a source familiar with the matter, the ACC invited physical evidence (like photos and video) to be presented to corroborate the allegations. Ultimately, though, no conclusive evidence or secondary reports supported Lawson and her staff’s initial allegation, according to a source.

Duke was informed of the findings of that investigation earlier Thursday, a source added, before its eventual win over Pitt later that evening. The ACC is obviously aware of all of this.

What they’re saying

“Let me be clear: Florida State beat us,” Lawson said Thursday. “They beat us playing with a men’s ball in the first half and a women’s ball in the second half. But I can’t say if we’d have played with a women’s ball in the first half and the second half that we would have won. But they can’t say that, either.”
“We have concluded through our investigation that it was a men’s ball,” she added. “The conference and Florida State is saying that it wasn’t.”
“It’s very frustrating that (the game) … was not treated with the utmost respect that players on both teams deserve.”

What do we make of this whole situation?

Lawson’s allegations, clearly, are quite serious. Gender equality issues between men’s and women’s college basketball — really, men’s and women’s sports, period — inherently need to be addressed, but especially so because of the many recent examples of women drawing the proverbial short straw. The glaring discrepancy between the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments back in 2021, during the “bubble,” is one of the more visible and outrageous examples of late. The ACC is obviously aware of all this, and cares about investing in and looking out for its female athletes.

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With that context in mind, it would be easy to draw wide-sweeping conclusions that the women’s basketball game in question between Florida State and Duke wasn’t given the same considerations that its men’s equivalent would. But that said, a few things stand out here.

First: Given Lawson’s experience in both the men’s and women’s games — Duke hired her off the Boston Celtics’ bench, where she served as an assistant coach — she, perhaps more than anyone, would know the difference between the two. If something were off about the ball, wouldn’t she have immediately realized and said something to the officials? And that leads to other questions: Why would Duke wait until halftime of the game to raise the issue with officials? And why didn’t others involved in the game publicly support her claims? Ask anyone who has experience with both men’s and women’s basketball, and they’ll agree: They feel different, to the extent you immediately know. (Not that this reporter is an expert by any means, but even during pickup runs at the local gym, you can quite literally feel the women’s ball is smaller.) Some — although not all — women’s balls, depending on the brand, even explicitly mention the size on the ball’s exterior.

Then consider how this process, and investigation, has played out. The ACC began contacting folks on Monday, and solicited physical proof later in the week. Yet the league never made any public statement until after Lawson’s comments on Thursday. That sounds more to me like a league trying to protect its coach’s image, not one trying to put its coach on blast. Unless, of course, that coach broaches the subject — despite already knowing the league’s investigation had already concluded, with no evidence to support said claim.

One last thing: Lawson mentioned Thursday night that she wanted to appeal the game, but wasn’t permitted by the conference. The ACC confirmed that in its statement on Friday, saying that per “NCAA playing rules, there is no appeal or protest process.” Per a source, there also is no precedent for said appeal. (In past instances of obvious officiating mistakes, for example, including those the league has confirmed after the fact, the results of the contest have stood.)

At the end of the day, Lawson says a men’s ball was used — and the league says one wasn’t.

(Photo: Scott W. Grau / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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