This year’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship has become a recent hot topic in both men’s and women’s basketball. The South Carolina women’s basketball team only fell a few points short to the UConn Huskies. Dawn Staley expressed her disappointment in her team multiple times throughout the game, and this has gained her a lot of criticism.
Dawn Staley is the coach at the University of South Carolina. Dawn Staley’s career has been a roller coaster of accomplishments that has gained her the title she has today. After winning the Olympics for the USA as a professional basketball player, she turned to her coaching career. She earned many national awards and even made it to the history books as the first person in USA basketball history to have earned both the USA Basketball National Coach of the Year and USA Basketball Athlete of the Year. USA Basketball stated that “Staley won a total of 10 gold medals as an athlete,” not even including her accomplishments as a coach. However, Dawn Staley was recently criticized by many viewers for being upset with her team’s performance at the NCAA Tournament.
During the game, Dawn Staley was seen yelling the F word multiple times, hitting her forehead, and looking disappointed. Many viewers quoted it as being similar to a “tantrum.” So many viewers were displeased with this reaction given the fact that she has been a coach for years and, to them, should behave more appropriately to her team losing (even if it’s a championship). Sports broadcaster Robin Lundberg stated on X that “South Carolina lacks a star. Dawn Staley being by far the most recognizable figure of course isn’t bad for the program, but ain’t good for this game.” The post was arguing that Dawn Staley’s outburst took media attention away from her girls and tainted the team’s image.
Other viewers have come in defense of Dawn Staley. Many viewers believe that her reaction to her team’s performance was very natural and understandable. Many Dawn Staley supporters believe that it’s “not just basketball.” Yahoo Sports on X stated, “it’s bigger than basketball…Not very many women, let alone Black women, get bestowed in this honor.” The post was referencing the statue of Dawn Staley that would be built in her honor on a South Carolina building. Fans also believe this is Dawn Staley’s mindset for her team. Dawn Staley knows how important accomplishments like these can be for her team to gain credibility and acknowledgment that most women, let alone women of color, don’t receive in the sports industry.
Both sides can admit that Dawn Staley did have a very emotional reaction during the NCAA Tournament. But what do you think? Do you think Dawn Staley had an unnecessary outburst on national television, ruining her credibility as a good coach, or that the reaction to the loss was reasonable and that “it’s more than just basketball” to women and women of color in sports.
