The fight for racial equality might sound like something out of the mid-20th century, but discrimination lasted for far longer in some areas of the country. At least according to Dawn Staley.
The South Carolina coach appeared on Wednesday’s episode of “IMO” with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson. During the interaction, she spoke about some of the deep-rooted racial assumptions she had to deal with when she first arrived in Columbia in 2008.
$12M Worth Dawn Staley (as per Celebrity Net Worth) told former First Lady Michelle Obama about the experience and how proud she is of having made a name for herself in the South Carolina community:
“When I first got there, other coaches would recruit against us using that history. But now, where I sit as a Black woman who makes a lot of money in that state, some people agree with it, and some don’t. I’ve ingrained myself into the community. The community and I are one. I say some things that some people may not like, but I do think the people in South Carolina judge me based on my life, not my resume.” (30:24).
“They see what I’ve given to the community and what the community has given back to me. It’s easy to fall in love with success, but it’s more about the mutual relationship. To be in this community and to have a statue and a street named after me means a great deal, because I meet Black people who tell me they couldn’t or wouldn’t walk on the campus until I got there,” he added.
It’s interesting to see Staley’s take, especially in the historical context of the late 2000s. Barack Obama, would become the first African American president in the country’s history in 2009. At the time, political commentators and elected officials spoke of a postracial reality.
Dawn Staley on why she’s against revenue sharing
The House v. NCAA settlement has set the road ahead for student athletes to finally be paid directly by their schools. During her interview with Michelle Obama, the coach shared some worries she has about the model.
For her, different players making different wages can create an unhealthy locker room environment, and that’s why the school is planning on having players sign NDAs about their financial arrangements.
“Now whether they can stick with that or not, some of them get disgruntled and maybe transfer and just say what ‘I was making (amount)’ and it can stir up the pot but I’m very honest,” Staley said in the episode recorded June 10. “I’ll tell them, there’s a reason why you get paid this and you get paid that. I’ll explain that to them.”
Regardless, Dawn Staley admitted that the $20 million every school will be allowed to use for compensation will most certainly be almost entirely soaked up by football and men’s basketball. Women’s basketball is set to receive only a token amount of the revenue sharing.
Read more:
Dawn Staley Once Opened Up About Her Mother’s Parenting Style That Inculcated Discipline
