Last week, South Carolina's women's basketball coach, Dawn Staley, made headlines for all the wrong reasons. The Hall of Fame player/coach was asked by a reporter her views on men assuming female identities in order to compete in women's sports and her answer was, well, a disaster.
Not the Bee covered that story here, but I don't think anyone, anywhere, had a better response to it than former ESPN host Sage Steele:
Staley's cringeworthy answer didn't deter her impressive team from completing a remarkable undefeated season by knocking off the Iowa Hawkeyes yesterday to capture the NCAA title. Ironically, that's something that could have easily been marred and taken from her all-female squad should Staley's wrongheaded approach to so-called "trans athletes" become accepted practice in the NCAA.
Regardless, with as bad a moment as Staley had regarding this obnoxious trans trend, and with as appropriate as the criticism she received has been, Staley had an equally good moment following her team's championship victory, and that's certainly worth noting too.
The Gamecocks' victory in the title game saw them defeat one of the most celebrated, transcendent women's basketball players of all time. Iowa's Caitlin Clark has had an almost impossibly great career. She is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the NCAA, has won college basketball's "player of the year" for two years, received the John R. Wooden Award, and Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award.
More than all that, Clark is a Christian young woman and sets a positive example for the many young girls who look up to her.
And that is what Coach Staley took time to note in the midst of her postgame celebration.
That is class. That is sportsmanship. That is honorable. And it's also true.
When Staley was originally asked the question regarding men filling spots on women's teams, she paused and looked uncomfortable. Some have suggested that hesitation indicated that the coach knew the truth, but just lacked the courage to speak it because of the inevitable media crucifixion she would have received and the distraction that might have been for her team.
Whether that's the case or not, her trans answer was disappointing and a setback for both common sense, women's right, and fairness. But credit where credit is due, and using your platform to highlight the integrity and nobility of a vanquished foe like Clark? We desperately need more of that, so good on you, Coach Staley.
