Dawn Staley Questions NBA‘s Readiness for a female Head Coach Following Knicks Consideration
TAMPA, FL – South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley expressed skepticism about the NBA’s preparedness to hire a female coach, speaking at SEC Media Days on October 14, 2025. Her comments came after she reportedly would have accepted the New York Knicks head coaching position had an offer been made, as reported in august 2025.
“It was a real interview and I’d like to see what they’re talking about. And if ther is somebody that is interested in knowing and interested in being the first female NBA coach and such, I got all the information. Come see me because, because I’ll get you prepared for the interview,” staley said.
Staley indicated that some NBA franchises may not be equipped to handle the scrutiny that would accompany hiring a woman as head coach. “And if there are NBA franchises that are interested in hiring a female, I’m here, too, because you’ve got to be ready to take that on and all the things that it comes with because it’s not just [about] hiring the first female coach,” she stated.
She illustrated her point with a hypothetical scenario involving the New York knicks.”Because 1… If I’m the Knicks coach and [the Knicks] have a five-game losing streak, it’s not going to be about the losing streak,” Staley said. “It’s going to be about being a female coach. So you as an organization, a franchise, you have to be prepared for that and strong enough to endure those types of instances when you’re going to look to hire a female coach.”
the Knicks currently have Mike Brown as head coach, hired after the firing of Tom Thibodeau.Brown previously won four NBA championships as an assistant coach with the San Antonio spurs and Golden State Warriors. He was fired by the Sacramento Kings in December 2024 after a 13-18 start to his third season, following a 2023 playoff berth-the franchise’s first in 16 years.
South Carolina opens it’s season against Grand Canyon on November 3.
