Dawn Staley is widely regarded as one of the greatest players and coaches in basketball history. The only person to win the Naismith Trophy as both a player and a coach, Staley’s influence on the sport has been remarkable.
During an ESPNW segment celebrating America 250, Staley was asked about her American sports hero. The South Carolina Gamecocks head coach named American track-and-field legend, Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
“Jackie Joyner-Kersee,” she said. “I mean, she was everybody’s darling. She worked her tail off to give herself a household name.”
Joyner-Kersee represented America in numerous international sporting events and won 12 gold medals in her career, including three gold medals at the Olympics and four at the World Athletics Championships.
Two other female basketball icons were featured in the ESPNW video. Caitlin Clark said that tennis legend Serena Williams is her American sports hero.
“She was a great athlete in general, and everybody can appreciate that she broke a lot of barriers in what she did, and she is the definition of a competitor, and I always admired her,” Clark said.
Four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson named three players, from three different disciplines, as her American sports heroes. She mentioned Mia Hamm, Serena Williams, and Lisa Leslie.
Dawn Staley Responded to A’ja Wilson’s ‘Soft’ Comment
Dawn Staley has been the head coach of the Gamecocks since 2008. During her legendary run as the head coach, she has nurtured several great WNBA players, including A’ja Wilson, who is arguably one of the best players ever.
Wilson believes that Dawn Staley used to be very strict when she was playing for South Carolina, whereas now, she has become soft. Staley shooting TikToks with her current players was cited as a major reason behind this assessment by Wilson.
During an appearance on NBC Sports, Dawn Staley was asked to comment on Wilson’s opinion.
“Have I gotten softer? I’ve gotten smarter, right,” she said. “Because you can’t allow them to beat you at their game, I’m beating them at their game. A’ja [Wilson’s] probably gotten softer too…now that she got a man, right? She got a little softer.”
“But I will say this…I really enjoy young people. I enjoy taking the journey with them for them finding themselves. And it’s such a cool process and a cool dynamic helping them find out who they really are,” she added.
Staley didn’t deny Wilson’s claim; instead, she explained why it’s important for her to keep up with the new generation in order to get the best out of them.
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