Protests against police conduct in recent weeks have created a divide between two of South Carolina’s most powerful women, who have been friends for years.
University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley posted a tweet from Nikki Haley on Wednesday in which the former SC Republican governor and United Nations ambassador criticized the WNBA’s decision to honor Black Lives Matter when games start again this month.
“Proud of @KLoeffler for taking on the crowd that wants sports to be about uniting people, not dividing people based on political agendas,” Haley tweeted in support of US Senator Kelly Loeffler, co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, who asked for the WNBA will replace the planned Black Lives Matter themes with American flags.
Staley, a WNBA legend who coaches the United States women’s team, retweeted Haley’s post with the message: “The final division is packed in this tweet. We must and will overcome.”
The final split is included in this tweet. We must and we will win. https://t.co/3fHNgk9J1c
– dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) July 9, 2020
The Haley’s mafia comment drew criticism from CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers, who served in the SC Legislative with her. He cited his ties to Republican President Donald Trump, his former boss.
“This is a tragic statement. To declare a league that is a majority of black women, a mafia, causes division,” Sellers tweeted Wednesday. “You are playing with Trump’s common denominator. You know better than to use race as a political currency.”
Staley declined to continue discussing his tweet. A spokeswoman for Haley did not respond to an interview request.
The exchange marks a departure from the friendly public relationship of Haley and Staley, which has been seen as a sign of Haley leading the Republican Party’s efforts to diversify and broaden its support since her election as South Carolina’s first female and minority governor in 2010.
The duo, a daughter policy of Indian-American immigrants and a basketball coach who grew up in housing estates in Philadelphia, partnered with their charities that donated shoes and school supplies to underprivileged children in the countryside.
Staley supported Haley’s call to remove the Confederacy flag from SC Statehouse grounds after the 2015 Charleston shooting. That same year, Staley also served in a group that the governor formed to raise money for the victims of a historic flood.
Haley watched the USC women’s basketball games while she was governor and gave Staley the state’s highest honor, the Order of Palmetto. Shortly after the Gamecocks won a national title in 2017, Haley hosted Staley at her New York apartment when she was at the United Nations.
Staley tweeted to Haley in 2018 that “it’s an honor to call him a friend and great leader”. In May, Haley wished Staley a happy 50th birthday, whom she called “a great coach and sweet friend”.
But Staley and Haley spoke openly on opposite sides of protests against police conduct that began after George Floyd died while in the custody of Minneapolis police on Memorial Day.
A screenshot of the charity website Innersole, University of South Carolina trainer Dawn Staley, promoting her partnership with The Original Six, a charity founded by former SC governor and UN ambassador Nikki Haley.
Haley criticized the calls to empty the police departments and called for an end to the vandalism of monuments by protesters.
Staley wrote a column for The Players’ Tribune about how his heart was breaking because of race relations after Floyd’s death.
“People are crazy because NOTHING HAS CHANGED,” wrote the coach.
The differences between the Hall of Fame coach and the expected presidential candidate for 2024 became more personal when sports mixed with politics this week.
Loeffler asked the WNBA not to put “Black Live Matters” on players’ shirts or display the text on the floor. The Georgia Republican seeking re-election said the national movement was divisive and was not in line with the league’s support for inclusion.
“The truth is, we need less – not more – politics in sports,” Loeffler wrote to league leaders.
The WNBA players’ association responded by asking the senator to sell her stake in the Atlanta Dream, tweeting “CHANGE! OUT!”
This led Haley, who has presented herself as the most radical Republican since Trump became president and worked in his government, to praise Loeffler for “facing the crowd”. Haley endorsed Loeffler at a campaign rally in March outside Atlanta.
This is not the first time that Staley has faced problems with national political figures.
Staley’s 2017 championship team never visited Trump at the White House because Gamecocks didn’t receive an invitation until months after the title game.
“I have more fish to fry than worry about an invitation,” said Staley five months after the championship. She added that the White House criticism “speaks for itself”.
Haley promised that he would work to get an invitation. But when one arrived in November 2017, the team was unable to go, citing scheduling conflicts as the season had already started.