TW: I want you all to keep in mind that domestic abuse, physical abuse and all other types of abuse are unacceptable, and no one, no matter their race, gender, sexuality, etc., should ever be abused. If you are currently in an abusive situation, there are crisis hotlines online that you can call for help. This is the National Domestic Abuse Hotline number for anyone in need: 800-799-7233
As a TCU student myself, when I heard about the controversy behind Sedona Prince, the power forward/center for TCU’s women’s basketball team, I knew I had to share what the students (and I) thought about it. It seems like Prince is here to stay, but what does the student body have to say about this? What will TCU do about this issue? Will this affect Prince’s future career in the WNBA? Let’s find out.
Sedona Prince’s career in college basketball began at University of Texas and the University of Oregon. She was once declared the tallest woman to ever play for the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team. After taking to the court during her last year of college ball at TCU, she hopes to continue onto the WNBA.
In recent years, she’s had a pretty good reputation, especially in the world of women’s sports. In a TikTok she posted during the 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, she highlighted the unequal facilities provided to women compared to what the men had. This prompted a public backlash from the media, leading to a reassessment of gender equity in college athletics. Along with other female athletes, she filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, claiming that their compensation for female athletes was poor and that the NCAA’s restrictions on direct pay violated antitrust laws (these laws help regulate business practices and the equal pay of players in this case). The NCAA eventually agreed to a settlement of $2.8 billion in the case that Prince motivated, improving further compensation from schools to student athletes.
Prince has had the outward appearance of someone who cares about empowering women in the past, but she has recently (since August 2024) been under fire for allegations of physical, mental and emotional abuse towards one of her ex-girlfriends Olivia Stabile. Stabile came out with a TikTok series talking about her experiences with Prince and how badly she abused her. She showed a video of her bruising, screenshots of text messages from Prince, and gave her viewers harsh details of her abusive experiences. Prince has denied allegations on her personal TikTok account.
Long story short, the couple went on a trip to Mexico for Prince’s birthday, and Stabile claims all hell broke loose during that trip. According to Stabile, Prince was reckless with an ATV, physically abused Stabile and toyed with her emotions throughout the ordeal, including pretty much cheating on her in front of her face.
The Public’s Reaction
The public has had some extreme views on these allegations. A change.org page dedicated to having Prince removed from the TCU basketball team was created which stated that “within our society, stories of abuse are all too common, with an estimated one in three women experiencing physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime globally (World Health Organization). Even in institutes of higher education, these problems persist, undermining the integrity and safety of these environments.” The page also directly calls out TCU administration saying, “We are therefore calling on Texas Christian University (TCU) to take immediate action on this matter involving Sedona Prince, a member of their Women’s Basketball Team, and remove her from the team. We believe that without accountability, there can be no justice, and without justice, there is just another silent victim carrying their pain in the shadows.”
The page’s strong words against TCU and Sedona Prince shines light on alleged abuse that too often gets overshadowed by administration-wide success, rather than the support and safety of the other students on the team. As of writing this article, the change.org petition to “hold Sedona Prince accountable…” has now reached 201,279 signatures after raising the signature goal to 300,000.
Other articles covering the situation, include: TCU 360, USA Today, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the Dallas Observer. It seems that based on interviews conducted by these sites, Sedona Prince’s position on the basketball team will stay “intact.”
TCU’s reaction
There have been some mixed reviews coming from the TCU student body. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of talk around campus about this issue, but I wanted to do some further research and ask the students through an online forum what they thought about the situation. I decided to post a question on YikYak, an anonymous app commonly used by college students, asking TCU students: “So TCU, what are your thoughts on the Sedona Prince situation?”
There were quite a few comments showing negative feelings toward Prince. Student #1 said Prince, “needs to be kicked off the team.[I] Can’t believe we are propping her up like this.” Student #3 said something similar, stating that they’re “…embarrassed she’s on our team.” Student #4 stated that it is “a disgrace to have a well known abuser representing TCU. It’s disgusting.” When adding up all the upvotes from those comments, we have about 165 people in agreement over their disapproval of Sedona Prince remaining on the TCU Women’s Basketball team, out of those who saw the post.
I have talked to many others in my sorority and my Her Campus chapter, and they all seem to agree that Sedona Prince is someone they wouldn’t like to see representing our school and our athletics department. We all seem to agree that abuse should not be tolerated.
I hope that this article continues to shed light on the matter of abuse and the neglect of administrations in holding people accountable for their actions. Prince’s placement on the women’s basketball team is disappointing for many. However, I hope we are eventually able to hold those in the spotlight accountable, so allegations of abuse are not as normalized in society as they are today.