Dawn Staley Sounds Off On Quiet Rhetoric Surrounding Team's Play-Style

After the South Carolina Women's Basketball team's Final Four loss, Dawn conveyed a strong message about the criticisms regarding her team's play-style.

In the wake of what was an excruciating way to end a historic season, there was a question Dawn Staley was asked that revolved around a conversation outside of the Gamecocks' loss to Iowa, one that she'd addressed before. That question surrounded the seemingly open criticism from other coaches who hint that South Carolina's brand of basketball isn't basketball at all. 

When broached with this question, Dawn gave a thought-provoking answer regarding her team, taking the chance to strike down every negative connotation of her players both in terms of how they're viewed in society, along with how they're viewed on the floor.

"We're not barfighters. We're not thugs. We're not monkeys. We're not streetfighters. This team exemplifies how you need to approach basketball, on the court and off the court, and I do think that's sometimes brought into the game, and it hurts," Dawn explained.

Coach Staley then proceeded to call out members of the media, alluding to certain remarks being made about her team when gathering amongst themselves, specifically noting a gathering of media before the Final Four began on Friday.

"When you say things that you probably shouldn't be saying in the home, on the phone or texting, out in public and you're being heard, and you are a national writer for our sport, it just confirms what we already know. So, watch what you say when you're in public and you're talking about my team in particular, just watch what you say about our team, because it's wrong. You got young lives who are really, if you really knew them, you would think differently. So don't judge us by the color of our skin, judge us by how we approach the game, and you may not like how we play the game, that's the way we play, [and] that's the way I coach. I'm not changing, we've found success in it, and maybe some days, like today, we end up on the losing side of the stick, but guess what, we live to see another day. We live to see the comeback next year and try to do this again, cause I'm not changing, but I hear you, cause I do have friends in the media, believe it or not."

It's a crying shame that coach Staley is having to address this notion that crosses both race and sport, something that shouldn't exist in 2023.

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