When Dawn Staley was growing up, WNBA did not exist. The game has changed since her youth, said the former player and current coach of the South Carolina women’s basketball team, because young women will have today’s stars to respect.
“I often wonder whether or not I can play today in how the game is evolving. These superphysical and super-talented individuals. But above all, what I think has happened is for all of my current players, for all of their lives, they they only knew WNBA, “she told CBSN contributor Antjuan Seawright in an interview.
“If you’ve grown up with professional women’s basketball all your life, there’s a tangible thing ahead of you to work hard,” she said. “It was probably a little more difficult when I was growing up playing this game because you crave college and then if you are lucky enough to play at the Olympics, because that was like professional basketball for us.”
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After playing four years at the University of Virginia, Charlotte Sting summoned Staley with the ninth overall choice in the 1999 WNBA draft – three years after the league was formed. The three-time Olympic gold medalist was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Staley now spends his days training Gamecocks and took them to a National Championship in 2017. This year, his team is the number 1 seed in his region at the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
She sees herself at her best in times of adversity.
“I have the ability to see the big picture and sometimes people are lost in a moment. The moments are fleeting. For example, the moments of victory are fleeting. The moments of loss are fleeting. But, when you have an understanding of overall picture, can teach a little better when you are in an adverse situation. “
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Staley compared the WNBA’s influence with the election of Kamala Harris as vice president, saying that they showed women, especially black women, that they can aspire higher.
“If all the players I coached, if they’ve always seen the WNBA in their lives, if they’ve just heard about the WNBA, they have something to achieve. Now that Kamala Harris is our vice president, you know, some students from political sciences, black students, if they want to stay in that area, they have something to achieve, “said Staley. “Representation is important. It matters.”
She doesn’t take her success for granted, using her platform to defend racial equality and push for more diversity at the University of South Carolina. Last summer, Staley was appointed to the Southeast Conference’s Racial Equity and Social Justice Council, a group that it will help to outline strategies to promote racial justice and equality in university athletics.
“I know that many people have been suffering for years and these people don’t have a platform. These people have no voice, ”she said. “I feel that I must be a beacon of hope and a voice for those who cannot share their experiences because I consider myself a leader. I consider myself to be a mentor for young people, including the players I coach and I have to help them navigate through this life. from the real world because it’s so different. ”