COLOMBIA – Dawn Staley sees America in the midst of two pandemics.
Staley, a South Carolina women’s basketball coach and United States Olympic team coach, said more in a word-filled summer on Friday. Not afraid to say what she thought after George Floyd’s death in May, involved by the police, she returned to the front and center after the Jacob Blake shooting in Wisconsin.
“In this case, (racism is) like a disease, more than a pandemic. We haven’t found a vaccine for that yet, ”she said. “But we mustn’t stop.”
She will use her platform. It will continue to lobby for changes. She will advise the 11 young women who will almost certainly be elected the number one preseason team in the country on how to deal with a world that changes by the hour.
She will not tell them how they feel, although if they want to follow the leadership of the NBA, WNBA and other professional leagues that choose to boycott games in protest, she will not stop them.
“I want them to be able to digest what’s going on. I want them to feel everything they are feeling. I’m here to help you, ”said Staley. “I am so afraid that they will assume my opinions and how I see things. I don’t want them to do that. I want them to feel what they feel. “
There is no USC season schedule because of the coronavirus pandemic and, even if there were, it would not start until November. But if Gamecocks made a game and another racial incident occurred, wouldn’t they play?
“I would not be surprised if they decide that this is something they want to flex. If we get to that point, we’ll get to that point, ”said Staley. “But I hope that we will have some discussions before that. If I ever get to that point, what can I do? I will not get in their way. “
This could continue in the 2021 Olympics, postponed this summer because of COVID-19. Staley is set to lead the women’s basketball team, which will consist of WNBA players who boycotted this week.
A long time between now and then. It is time to grow, to heal, to act.
If that involves participating in any of the Black Lives Matter protests planned for this weekend in Columbia (junior guard Destiny Littleton will, according to Staley), the coach supports. More than anything, Staley wants people to vote.
Staley did not remain silent on this either, encouraging his nearly 91,000 Twitter followers to vote. And although she said she is not passing on her views on the country to her team or defending a candidate to vote for, she has criticized President Donald Trump in the past (as in a recent article for The Players’ Tribune) and tweeted her support for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
Staley says what he thinks and Twitter-verse, as he is known for doing, responds with praise and contempt. It all starts from being a public figure who chooses to use his voice to talk about the problems that the country faces.
“When I tweeted something, it’s really coming from my heart. I’m out there using my 280 characters. I have a responsibility to know that there may be some resistance and there may be some ugliness and there may be some ugliness that comes from this, ”she said. “But I have tough skin. Our country is divided. Incredibly divided. “
Staley left Columbia on Friday to visit his sister, who is battling leukemia, in Durham, NC. Staley said he will participate in the BLM protests this weekend if he can. She was already speaking on Friday, the 57th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
In any case, his message was the same as before. The problem is not going away. Coronavirus can eventually be treated, but social problems show no signs of cessation.
“Some people see it as racism, others as a need for obedience, some people see it as a series of things. I see it as wrong, no matter how you look at it, ”said Staley. “It’s wrong.”
Follow David Cloninger on Twitter @DCPandC.