“Black women in coaching positions are held to higher standards - especially because there are so few opportunities. There are stereotypes we have to navigate - like being the angry Black woman - even on the sidelines.”

American basketball coach and former player

Dawn Staley is an American basketball coach and former player, best known as the head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team. As a point guard, she played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers and later spent eight seasons in the Women’s National Basketball Association, mainly with the Charlotte Sting. She also represented the United States women’s national basketball team, winning three Olympic gold medals as a player from 1996 to 2004. In 2021, she coached the U.S. team to another Olympic gold medal. Staley is the only person to win the Naismith Award both as a player and as a coach.