Those who are able to do so can; those who cannot, they can teach. Dawn Staley is capable of both and it's why she should be the first female head coach in the NBA.AdvertisementStaley said to the New York Times that he came with many credentials. I have the confidence. I can confidently stand before men and lead them. All-Stars on the first team. MVPs. I'm okay with that.Staley said that he has not coached in the league. You know what? Im a quick learn. Im a quick learn.Staley, the first Black woman to coach the U.S. Womens National Team in its history, is the most prominent name in coaching. The team won their seventh consecutive gold medal in Tokyo. She is a formidable player with numerous accolades at the college, professional, and Olympic levels. She has a national title, three Final Fours and now a gold-medal record as a coach.However, Staleys name was already rising in NBA coaching circles before she won the gold medal. She was interviewed by the Portland Trail Blazers to learn more about her.It was a challenge. I love challenges. She said that she hadn't considered coaching an NBA team a challenge until the interview process.AdvertisementI stated to them that I had no interest in the NBA, and I have not since.Instead of Staley offering the job, Portland hired Chauncey Billups, a former great player without any prior head coaching experience. The decision was not controversial from a coaching perspective. Culturally, the decision did raise eyebrows, since Billups was involved in sexual assault claims in 1997. The Trail Blazers ruined the situation by refusing to allow Billups to answer questions at his introductory press conference. There were also reports that they never reached out to the victim.AdvertisementPortland could have hired the most popular name in the game but they chose someone who will keep asking questions until the answers are given. Billups' hiring was part of a trend in which seven Black coaches were hired this offseason. Jamahl Mosley, Willie Green (New Orleans), Jason Kidd(Dallas), Nate McMillan (“Atlanta”), Wes Unseld Jr. (“Washington”) and Ime Udoka ($Boston) are just a few of the names on the list.AdvertisementStaley's race and gender are important aspects of the conversation. This is especially true considering Becky Hammon, a white woman who has been rumored to be in the running for the head coaching job in the NBA. Hammon, a six-time WNBA All-Star, has been an assistant for the San Antonio Spurs since 2014. She is often referred to as the first female league head coach. With Staley's experience as both a player, coach, and the rise in female coaches such as Kara Lawson, who was on the Celtics team before becoming the womens coach at Duke, the list is growing.Staley said to GQ that she has never felt more Black than now.Dawn Staley is a double minority. She is Black and she's a woman. Dawn Staley has two checks. Her race and gender have meant that she has been dealt twice the odds in her life. The NBA, a Black league, just increased their poor coaching numbers with seven Black coaches hired in the past few months.AdvertisementHere is where people will shout that I am making this about race and that the best person for the job should be hired. This is not the way America works or the world works. And they often forget that three out of four conference coaches were Black. If we were to debate which woman should be the league's first female head coach and who has the most success leading her teams and country, it would be the one with the most head coaching experience. It's not that I am mocking Hammon or devaluing the NBA's experiences as a woman. I am showing them that Staley is the best candidate for her job because of her resume, regardless of how many times they use her race or gender against her.
