Dawn Staley Criticizes National Media ‘Narratives,’ Advocates for Equal Coverage of Gamecocks

SportsCenter Live Feed Update: South Carolina’s Dawn Staley Speaks Out on Media Coverage

In a fiery response to the national media’s portrayal of women’s basketball, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley addressed the coverage surrounding her team’s 2024 National Championship victory and the spotlight on Caitlin Clark of Iowa. The Gamecocks clinched a historic 87-75 win, completing a perfect 38-0 season. However, according to Staley, much of the media focus shifted almost entirely to Clark’s legacy and her championship aspirations, overshadowing South Carolina’s remarkable achievement.

Staley emphasized the significance of her team’s undefeated run, saying, “Everything was about Caitlin Clark and her legacy and her ability to win a national championship. Yet we were coming into this thing undefeated, doing something that’s unprecedented at the time, because it’s hard. It’s hard.”

With the upcoming matchup featuring UConn’s Paige Bueckers, Staley finds herself in a familiar situation, echoing the same feelings she had last year. “We find ourselves back here in a similar situation,” she remarked.

As the Gamecocks head into another Final Four, Staley was quick to highlight that her remarks weren’t meant to detract from Bueckers, whom she called “a great freakin’ player” — one who’s bound to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, an Olympian, and a standout star. But Staley made it clear that she felt compelled to advocate for her own players as well.

South Carolina has faced adversity this season, losing key players like Kamilla Cardoso, last year’s Final Four Most Outstanding Player, and Ashlyn Watkins, who suffered a season-ending injury. They also experienced unexpected losses during the regular season, marking their first three defeats since 2020-21. But the Gamecocks have bounced back with a 12-game winning streak, earning a fifth consecutive Final Four appearance — the second-longest streak in Division I history. Now, they have a chance to make history themselves as the first repeat champions in women’s basketball in over a decade.

Staley expressed, “I want the sentiments to be about our players and what our players have been able to do — equally, because there’s room to do both.” She added, “We can raise Paige up because she deserves that and raise our players up because they deserve that.”

A passionate advocate for the growth of women’s basketball, Staley believes the sport has reached a point where all players, teams, and storylines should be given their due recognition. “Let’s not choose one player over another player’s history,” she said, asserting that “we’re all creating history for our game.”