Hanna and Haley Cavinder helped lead the Miami Hurricanes to the Elite Eight in the women’s basketball tournament, helping to increase their already widely known profile on social media.
The twin sisters were the subject of a story in The Free Press under the headline «NCAA Has a ‘Sexy Girl’ Problem.» The article’s subhead read, «The Cavinder Twins, the rising oligarchs of women’s college basketball, aren’t the best players. But they may be the best looking.»
The story touches on the appeal of the Cavinder twins and how they promoted themselves on social media and profited from the name, image and likeness (NIL) era of college athletics.
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Haley and Hanna Cavinder attend Game Four of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat at the Kaseya Center on June 9, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
But hours after the story was published, Hanna Cavinder claimed that she and her sister were set up.
«The interview for this article was obtained under the false pretense that it would be written about life after NIL, why we didn’t take our fifth year, our passions and business opportunities,» the statement read. «We were specifically told through the post that the context would be to ‘see the Cavinders as a very important story not only in the context of women’s college sports, but also in new media culture and business. They are building a highly successful brand, and we’re at the forefront of a new space, and we think that’s exciting and newsworthy.”
Haley Cavinder and Hanna Cavinder attend Game Four of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat on June 9, 2023 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
«We discussed with our team and learned about the media opportunity openly and after reviewing intentions. Haley and I welcomed this man into our home. He followed us through the entire weekend asking us questions and understanding what goes on in our daily lives After the weekend we had an interview sitting in our kitchen for over an hour and were only asked one question about our ‘physical appearance’.
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«The ensuing article not only disparaged our athletic and commercial accomplishments, but furthered the narrative that hard-working, creative, and driven women can only do well if they are seen as attractive. The article ignores our work ethic and dedication to NIL and the commercial endeavors He fails to recognize the young women/women who follow us and who we work so hard to inspire.
«Instead, it demotes us to ‘hot girl(s)’. We agreed to do the interview and wanted to support a woman running a media outlet. We are disappointed and disgusted by this journalistic practice and blatantly sexist trope. We just want to inspire young women to chase their dreams, work hard, dream big. Now we must also defend them against men who want to add their potential to physical appearance.»
Haley Cavinder #14 and Hanna Cavinder #15 of the Miami Hurricanes celebrate in the locker room after defeating the Indiana Hoosiers during the second round of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament held at the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on May 20. March 2023 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Joe Robbins/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
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Sherwood Strauss, the author of the piece in question, did not respond to the criticism. Bari Weiss, the editor of The Free Press, called the story a «great piece».