Legendary South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley has announced her support for tr*nsgender athletes in women's sports.
Staley's comments came after South Carolina's decisive victory over North Carolina State. Later today (3 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN App), the dominant Gamecocks face star point guard Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the national championship game. (RELATED: Sports Legend Shaq Backs The Blue In Hilarious Police Recruitment Video)
As Mediaite reports:
The Hall of Fame coach sat down on Saturday morning for a media conference to discuss Sunday's upcoming match against the Hawkeyes' star player Caitlin Clark. The Hawkeyes advanced to the championship game on Friday night after a 71-69 win over the UConn Huskies.
During the press conference, Outkick reporter Dan Zaksheske asked Staley whether tr*nsgender women should be allowed to compete in women's sports.
“Damn, you got deep on me, didn't you?” Staley said. “I'm of the opinion of, if you're a woman, you should play. If you consider yourself a woman and you want to play sports or vice versa, you should be able to play. That's my opinion. You want me to go deeper?”
Zaksheske followed up by asking if she believes tr*nsgender women should be allowed to also play in women's basketball.
“That's the question you want to ask, I'll give you that,” Staley continued. “Yes, yes. So now the barnstormer people are going to flood my timeline and be a distraction to me on one of the biggest days of our game, and I'm okay with that. I really am.”
The South Carolina women's basketball team last suffered a defeat in the 2023 national semifinals when they were handed their first loss of the season by the Hawkeyes. (RELATED: NBA Star Hints At Future Presidential Campaign)
In a year when South Carolina, collectively, and Clark, individually, have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, it's fitting that women's college basketball will end on such a monumental note.
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