CLEVELAND (TND) — Dawn Staley, the head coach of the University of South Carolina women’s basketball team, faced a “barnstorm” of criticism over the weekend after sharing her thoughts on transgender athletes in women's sports.
Outkick reporter Dan Zaksheske asked Staley to share her position on the debate during a Saturday press conference. A clip of the coach's response shared to X has earned nearly 27 million views.
“Damn, you got deep on me,” Staley remarked. “I’m under 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 play.”
She went on to say “yes” when asked if transgender women should be able to compete "in college basketball."
“So now, the barnstorm of 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,” the coach said.As Staley predicted, commenters soon took to social media with criticism over the stance.
“As an SEC girl through and through, I vehemently say ‘Go Hawks,’” women’s sports advocate and former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines wrote.
“Absolute lunacy,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said of the response. “I will stop at nothing to protect the achievements of our women and girls. Their successes will NOT be taken away by men. Biological men DO NOT belong in the locker room or on the court with our women and girls.”
“Wonder how she’d feel if her team got beat with a man playing on the opposing team," the representative added.A spokesperson clarified to The National Desk (TND) Monday the representative's statements were not directed at the team, but at "grown men sharing locker rooms with girls, which most Americans do not support."
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“If you have to sip, think, stutter, you know you don’t agree!” football coach Jason Brown added. “This is a horrible take by a woman with a big platform for women! What a joke we have become! Women play women! Men play men! What was so wrong with that way? Why are these people so delusional? Lord help!”
The women's tournament faced much controversy this year, with viewership also spiking. Vice President Kamala Harris received widespread mockery online last week after incorrectly claiming NCAA women’s basketball teams were excluded from having tournament brackets until 2022. The White House later said the vice president "misspoke" and was instead referring to women's teams first receiving March Madness branding that year.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Laundry also called for colleges to instate a new policy requiring student athletes be present for the national anthem after noting the LSU Tigers were absent for the Star-Spangled Banner before their game against the University of Iowa.
Follow Jackson Walker on X at @_jlwalker_ for the latest trending national news. Have a news tip? Send it to jacwalker@sbgtv.com.
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