NFL
By: Zachary Draves
As a player and coach, Dawn Staley is the quintessential basketball genius.
Born out of a great tradition of gritty ballers in Philadelphia, she has cultivated a captivating presence with her dynamism, passion, and transcendence that has made her a legend.
Now that she has reached the mountaintop for the third time in seven years as coach of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, she continues to etch her place amongst the greats. Not only did she and the Gamecocks go undefeated, but they did so with an entirely new lineup after losing all five starters from last year to the WNBA draft.
(Courtesy: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
A testament to how Coach Staley runs a program with such profound consistency in talent.
That is why it is frankly perplexing on the part of some to try to delegitimize her and what she has meant to the game, particularly at this current moment.
It was completely out of proportion for a reporter from the conservative media company Outkick to ask Coach Staley about her stance on transgender women competing in women’s sports the day before the national title game against Iowa when that issue had nothing to do with why she and they were there.
But in true Coach Staley fashion, she didn’t hold back.
“If you consider yourself a woman, and you want to play sports, or vice versa, you should be able to play,” she said.
When asked in a follow-up about whether she supports the policy on including trans women athletes, she didn’t waste any time.
Yes,” she said. “So now the barnstorm of people are going to flood my timeline and be a distraction to me in one of the biggest days of our game. And I’m OK with that.”
(Courtesy: Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK)
In truth, the real threat to women’s sports, as it has been said many times, is not trans women, but rather historically speaking unequal resources, abuse and violence, and a lack in media coverage of women’s sports to name a few.
Wouldn’t you know that in part because of Coach Staley and the Gamecocks, women’s basketball has achieved remarkable heights in terms of television ratings with the national title game garnering a record 18.7 million viewers and money opportunities in women’s sports across the board?
So the times are starting to change and maybe some don’t like that.
This really goes to show why that reporter was there and that their intentions was not about covering the actual tournament, but rather engaging in a failed attempt to try to make Coach Staley into an unnecessary political villainess.
The attacks on Coach Staley as “woke” have followed her over the last few years as her profile has been elevated due to her accomplishments as coach and also her willingness to take a position and stand her ground.
As a black woman in America, that is seen as threatening to some.
In actuality, Coach Staley is everything anyone would want in a coach. She is dedicated, hardworking, compassionate, disciplined, and obviously successful.
The tears she flowed after the game spoke to that.
She goes above and beyond especially when it comes to looking out for her players and creating a culture in which their humanity and well-being is prioritized.
(Courtesy: Lance King/Getty Images)
To her players, she is practically a motherly and aunt-like figure who is always there for them.
She is today what the late John Thompson was at Georgetown, an outspoken coach who didn’t hold anything back while staying unapologetically black and helped spur greatness both on and off the court.
The lineage of talent Coach Staley has produced is remarkable: A’ja Wilson, Aliyah Boston, Kamila Cardoso, Bree Hall, Bree Beal, Raven Johnson, and Tessa Johnson with many more to come.
As history looks back at this time in sports, the name Dawn Staley will be remembered quite fondly for what she and her players have achieved. They helped spur an explosion of popularity of women’s sports and did so with authenticity and brilliance.
While the trolls and haters will be looked at as for what they are, petulant.
Once again praise triumphs over petulance.
