Equality
for women in sports has always been an intensely debated topic, but in recent
years the conversation has truly heated up as women have begun to make greater
advances in the world of sports. Specifically, one woman who has shattered through
the glass ceiling preventing women from being “on the same level” as men in
athletics is Becky Hammon. As of August 5th 2014, the San Antonio
Spurs hired Hammon as the first female full time assistant coach in NBA history. When asked about taking a
coaching position from a potential man, Hammon stated “If you have a daughter,
or even a woman in your life, it is worth supporting because of the bigger
picture, because of the opportunities it will lead to down the road for little
girls,” Hammon said. “We’re not asking the male to get up and leave his seat.
We’re just saying scoot over a little bit. Make a little room at the table for
the ladies” (SI). Not only is Hammon the first female full time coach in NBA
history, but is also the first female assistant coach in any of the four major
sports (basketball, football, baseball, hockey) in North America. Now, you may
be thinking “Why would the Spurs make such a movement and hire this girl?”
Well, Hammon isn’t exactly your typical “girls girl”. Coming into the WNBA
undrafted meant that Hammon would be facing adversity before she even stepped
foot onto the court. Despite no team wanting her in the draft, Hammon managed
to sneak her way onto the New York Liberty, where she was able to carve out a
little name for herself as a scrappy player. Despite playing reasonably well,
the Liberty didn’t want Hammon, and traded her to the San Antonio Stars. On the
Stars, Hammon was able to accomplish amazing things such as making multiple All-star
and All-WNBA teams, and being one of only seven women ever to score 5,000
points at the professional level. Just as everything was going Hammon’s way,
she tragically blew out her knee and knew at that moment that her basketball playing
days were finished. Just like any other time in her adult life that Hammon had
been faced with adversity, she made the most of her opportunity. Because she
couldn’t play or even practice with her WNBA team, Hammon started watching
practices of the male affiliate to the Stars, the San Antonio Spurs. After
months of patiently watching and learning about men’s basketball, Hammon’s “sitting
in:” on practices of the Spurs started turning into Hammon interjecting her
thoughts every now and then to the coaching staff and players, which turned
into the players and coaches asking Hammon for advice, which turned into the
Spurs offering Hammon the full time assistant coaching job. When asked about
her aspirations for the future, Hammon stated “I want to be a head coach
somewhere”(USAtoday). Hammon’s work with the Spurs has not come without controversy, as specifically
on social media there has been many upset with the decision who took it into
their hands to tweet negative things at Becky and start rumors about her and
the players on the Spurs. @imf_alive goes as far to say “I bet Becky Hammon
goin’ be pregnant by Tony Parker by the all-star break, or a few days after the
break”, or @holeyfield85 who writes “Spurs making history with the Becky Hammon
hire. She needs to be careful of Tony Parker. She’ll be on the team for real”. These
are just a few of the hundreds of upsetting posts at Hammon. These posts are
saying that just because Hammon is a woman means that she is at risk of being
sexually active with Tony Parker. These posts also suggest that because she is
a woman, she “belongs” to Parker, and needs to watch out for herself so he
cannot take her. Just like Hammon has done every other time adversity has come
her way in life, she will find a way to persevere and improve upon the
situation. Lastly, Hammon is not just doing this for herself, but is leading
the charge for all women in America. After Hammon was hired by the Spurs, women’s
basketball legend Nancy Libermen accepted a full time assistant coaching job
with the Sacramento Kings, and Jen Welter was named assistant coach of the
Arizona Cardinals. Setting the pace for women in sports everywhere, Hammon says
“I think anything is possible, just because something’s never been done doesn’t
mean it can’t be done. Leadership has no gender” (SI).
Questions:
1. Do
you think that leadership has a gender? Does being a male/female define you as
a leader?
2. Is
Becky Hammon just a special case, or are all women capable of doing what Hammon
currently is?
3. If
Becky Hammon were a male, do you still believe she would have gotten the job?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Becky_Hammon
http://www.si.com/nba/2015/08/03/becky-hammon-spurs-liberty-gregg-popovich-nancy-lieberman-kings
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2015/07/16/becky-hammon-interview-spurs-summer-league/30270355/
https://www.google.com/search?q=becky+hammon&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=699&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIrq3ugvfxyAIVQVY-Ch3FdQ3g#imgrc=IwXJMk3XS6LtQM%3A
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11312366/becky-hammon-hired-san-antonio-spurs
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