When Dawn Staley agreed with Sue Bird about narratives in women’s basketball

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has long been a standout in women’s basketball, both as a player and coach. She has seen the sport evolve and believes there is enough space for every player and every story to be heard.

In March 2023, Staley participated in an interview with sports reporter Taylor Rooks and had a wide-ranging discussion about the state of women’s soccer.

During the interview, Rooks referenced a quote from four-time WNBA champion Sue Bird, who noted that women’s sports are often perceived as a “pond” rather than an “ocean” of opportunity.

“Sue is absolutely right. I feel like the narratives are designed to move us to the other end of the spectrum,” said Dawn Staley (12:49). “We’re starting to hate this Chosen One, and we shouldn’t do that.”

“I know our fan base loves ‘how you do it to yourself,’ but that’s not the case. There is space. We must respect the full spectrum of people who make our game great. There are so many people who make our game great.”

“There are so many differences of opinion in our game that we cannot improve. We must unite our voices to ensure we all get what we deserve in this area.”

Dawn Staley believed South Carolina would have won the canceled 2020 championship

Dawn Staley confidently asserted that the 2020 NCAA national championship title was within reach for South Carolina, but unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic denied them that chance.

In an interview with Taylor Rooks, Staley discussed the potential of the 2019-20 Gamecocks squad and reflected on what could have been a historic season:

“We were a victim in 2020, being the number one team in the country for the last nine weeks before COVID hit, and you wouldn’t know it,” Staley said (7:36).

“I think we would have won a national championship. We played at such a high level and just kept getting better and better, and maybe if we had an NCAA Tournament that story would have been told.”

The Gamecocks began the 2019-20 season ranked No. 8 in the preseason poll and quickly climbed to No. 1 by mid-January. They suffered just one loss in the SEC regular season and were heavy favorites to win New Orleans , before the pandemic canceled the tournament.

Had the tournament been played as scheduled, the Gamecocks likely would have added their second national title after winning their first in 2017. That would have given South Carolina a total of four NCAA championships, including titles in 2022 and 2024.