South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley breaks down the internet after the Final Four college basketball championship game against Iowa in the women’s NCAA Tournament, Sunday, April 7, 2024, in Cleveland. South Carolina won 87-75.
Transgender rights may be respected, according to University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley on Saturday, giving her team a boost ahead of their group’s win in the NCAA tournament game.
“If you’re a woman you really play,” Staley said during a press conference on Saturday, responding to a question about whether she believes “biological boys” should be permitted to participate in women’s activities.
“If you consider yourself a person and you want to play sports, or vice versa, you should be able to perform. That’s my mind.”
Transgender rights advocates applauded Staley’s remarks as a victory for trans rights.
“I’ve had the wonderful fortune of being in the @dawnstaley circle since 2001. Since then, I have been amazed and pleased with her for everything she has accomplished both on and off the court. One of the most happy moments in history is now regarded as such a moment. Way to go Dawn!” Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said on X, previously Online.
“Front-runners in women’s sports like Women’s Sports Foundation and Coach Dawn Staley are in favor of trans people playing on women’s teams. Thanks for speaking out, @dawnstaley!” Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, senior director of the Center for Transgender Equality and the brother of former GOP Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, said in a blog on X.
Traditional groups and individuals, who are more likely to reject transgender rights, said Staley had used her platform deliberately.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) called Staley’s comments “absolute lunacy.”
“I will do anything to defend the accomplishments of our women and girls. Their accomplishments will NOT be lost by men,” Mace said on X. “With our women and girls, natural people DO NOT belong in the locker room or on the court.”
Republicans are the “feminists of now” for supporting a bill that prohibits trans women and girls from playing on single-sex college sports teams, according to Mace during a House reading last year. The bill, which passed the House in April 2023, has no Democratic support. On all three House ideas to outlaw trans athletes from competing on university teams that reflect their gender identity, including at the Olympics, Mace is listed as a supporter.
South Carolina’s Freedom Caucus, a partnership of the court’s most liberal members, on Saturday touted the country’s unique restrictions on transgender student-athletes while condemning Staley’s support of transgender women and girls in women’s sports.
Once more, USC Coach @dawnstaley uses her taxpayer-funded program to drive left-wing values opposed to SC ideals, the group claimed on X.
Staley was questioned about her position on the subject by a traditional news channel reporter.
Staley paused before responding and added that while “I’m OK with that,” she was likely to receive criticism for her notes from those who opposed the participation of transgender athletes in women’s activities.
South Carolina won the NCAA tournament finals match over Iowa on Sunday to wrap up an tournament season. With her second national championship in the last ten years, Staley has established herself as one of the sport’s all-time greats.
Soon following Sunday’s get, she praised God. “We serve an incredible God,” she told ESPN’s Holly Rowe. “Remarkable favor, incredible. But glad, I’m thus proud.”
According to a Gallup poll conducted in June, the majority of Americans no longer support laws that allow trans athletes to play on sports teams that match their gender identity. In contrast to the 34 percent of respondents who said transgender athletes may be allowed to play on teams that match their gender identity, 66 percent now do.
According to the Movement Advancement Project, which monitors LGBTQ regulations, almost half of states have passed laws preventing transgender student-athletes from competing in accordance with their birth sex. The enforcement of laws passed in Arizona, Idaho, West Virginia, and Idaho are now blocked by court orders.
The governing body for mainly small schools, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, on Monday implemented a plan that essentially forbids trans athletes from competing in women’s activities.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, distributed, altered, or redistributed.
