Becky Hammon Keeps Breaking New Ground
By Ken Reed
Is there any logical reason why a female can’t coach male basketball players?
Are females incapable of grasping the intricacies of the pick-and-roll? Are they genetically unable to be passionate about basketball and highly competitive? Is it simply that women basketball coaches can’t communicate or motivate men?
All absurd concepts, right? Yet, the powers that be in pro and college sports continue to be biased toward the idea that men must coach men. The opposite isn’t the case. Tons of men coach women and girls in multiple sports, from youth leagues through the pro ranks. Does that symbolically communicate our true belief as a society, that men inherently are superior to women as sports coaches and strategists?
Well, Becky Hammon isn’t buying in, and thankfully for all progressive-thinking sports lovers, neither is Gregg Popovich and the rest of the San Antonio Spurs’ ownership and management team.
Hammon, the former Colorado State great and long-time WNBA star, is the head coach of the Spurs summer league team, the first woman ever to hold such a title. Hammon was also the first paid female assistant coach in the NBA this past season.
“I’m glad Pop didn’t really care if I was a boy or a girl,” said Hammon recently. “He just said, ‘OK, this mind knows basketball and let’s bring that mind aboard.’ All that anatomy didn’t matter.”
Hammon is aware that she’s charting new territory for female basketball coaches. She’s not running from that but she also wants to just be seen as a basketball coach.
“I don’t want to downplay it,” she said. “At the same time, I just want to coach. It is a big deal, but then it’s not a big deal, kind of in the same breath.”
It is a big deal today. But hopefully, it won’t be for long.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #22 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Rethinking Sports Fandom with Author Craig Calcaterra – We discuss Calcaterra’s new book “Rethinking Fandom: How to Beat the Sports-Industrial Complex at Its Own Game” and explore new ways to be a fan in the year 2022.
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Episode #21 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Chatting About a Broken Game With Baseball Writer Pedro Moura – Moura is a national baseball writer for Fox Sports. We discuss how and why the game of baseball is broken, what factors caused it, and offer a few thoughts on how to “fix” a great game.
Episode #20 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Coaching Youth and High School Sports Based On What’s Best for the Athlete’s Holistic Development – We chat with long-time youth, high school and college basketball coach Jim Huber.
Episode #19 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Capturing the Spirit of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League with Anika Orrock – We discuss the hoops AAGPFL women had to jump through to play the game they loved as well as the long-term impact and legacy they have in advancing sports opportunities for girls and women.
Episode #18 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Talking about the 50th Anniversary of Title IX and the Lia Thomas Controversy with Nancy Hogshead-Makar – Hogshead-Makar is a triple gold medalist in swimming, a civil rights attorney and CEO of Champion Women.
Episode #17 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Talking Sports With Legendary New York Times Sports Columnist Robert Lipsyte – We chat about Lipsyte’s amazing career and some of the athletes he covered.
Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- League of Fans Sports Policy Director Ken Reed quoted in Washington Post column titled "What happened to P.E.? It’s losing ground in our push for academic improvement," by Jay Mathews
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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