A Woman Can Succeed As Head Coach In The NBA, So Why Not Now?
As some societal barriers crumble and gender-equality is prioritized, a female head coach in the NBA is no longer just fodder for a goofy theatrical plot. However, there are huge risks.
The year was 1996. A landmark year in American history. A sitting U.S. President was engaging in lecherous activities with a White House intern. Tupac Shakur released his monumental fourth studio album, All Eyez On Me. And we saw a woman become a head coach in the NBA. Well, sort of.
She was a die hard New York Knicks fan. During a home game in Madison Square Garden, she won a halftime contest to become honorary coach for the second half. She captivated the Knicks’ unorthodox owner and he hired her to coach the rest of the season. She was portrayed by Whoopi Goldberg in the iconic sports comedy, Eddie.
Despite awful ratings from fallacious movie critics, this movie was groundbreaking. What’s even more perplexing is the fact this masterpiece barely broke even at the box office. Still, it is absolutely weird if you haven’t seen this movie at least twice.
As the push for gender-equality gains momentum, we could see a thematic shift from the Hollywood matrix to the real world. Last week, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed his belief that there will be a female head coach in the NBA. In fact, he’s seemingly rooting for it to happen “sooner rather than later.”
No woman has ever been a head coach for any NBA team in its 70-year history. And before San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich hired Becky Hammon in 2014, no woman had ever been a full-time assistant.
So, what challenges await the league’s first female head coach? The short answer is the same ones that occupy all the male coaches. Qualifications aside, the three biggest hurdles for all coaches are management, respect, and results.
The principal necessity for coaches is not winning. They must first build and sustain a healthy relationship with the organization’s front office. You know how the story eventually ends when a coach feuds with ownership regardless of how good their results are.
Look no further than ex-Golden State Warriors’ coach Mark Jackson for reference. The Warriors’ ascension to greatness began under Jackson, who was respected by budding stars Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, but disliked by owner, Joe Lacob.
Subsequently, a coach needs to routinely command both the locker room and huddle. It comes down to some old fashioned R-E-S-P-E-C-T. We have seen numerous coaches deposed for failing to garner enough of it.
Former Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt, is the most recent example of a human doormat. He had a distinguished international coaching career, but players were not impressed and he was ousted. Blatt struggled to corral the likes of LeBron James and others who openly challenged his authority more than once.
- Who could forget LeBron receiving a technical foul for doing this?
NBA coaches have increasingly struggled to clear those hurdles and continuity has been scarce over the last decade. Of the league’s thirty teams, twenty-seven have made head coaching changes since 2010. It’s a difficult job to navigate under today’s unrelenting microscope.
And that microscope is where the divergence between male and female coach begins. Envision the round-the-clock scrutiny surrounding a woman coaching remarkably wealthy players with mountainous egos. How will talking heads and fans respond to her controlling the game plan, rotations, and minutes?
Every decision or indecision will be questioned. Every mistake magnified. Will a team face public pressure to be more patient than most have been in recent history? What backlash will a team face for firing her? Though conflict is inevitable, what happens when a player objects to being subbed out in a crucial moment?
Consider the optics of a physically imposing male player getting into a sideline shouting match with his much smaller female coach. Data suggests he will be black and you can safely assume she will be white. How will that be covered? How will you perceive it? I can almost see the outcry and condemnation from corporate sponsors.
And what about the elephant in the room that we pretend is in the basement? Harassment of all kinds resides where men and women commingle. There’s a scandal hovering above a major American news network right now. So obviously there is no shortage of women being objectified in the sports realm.
Go ahead and google “female sports reporters.” Here’s the link for the rebels who shun participation.
Two of the top three results objectify women in the most stereotypical way. And while the networks are complicit in this, I couldn’t fathom the depths of degradation all women in sports deal with on a daily basis. Until I watched this video.
Those are the cards that will be dealt to the first female head coach in the NBA. Her success or failure will not hinge on qualifications, as basketball acumen is not exclusive to men. It’ll be her ability to repeatedly weather the storms.
The circus of ravenous media will follow and prod for controversies. Players will be asked loaded questions. Anonymous sources will leak information.
The sports arena is the most primal, so she will need to have thick skin and supreme confidence in herself. Just as Whoopi Goldberg did in the movie referenced at the outset.
Like Adam Silver, I’m also rooting for a woman to become a head coach in the NBA. There is no evidence suggesting a woman could not be successful.
Nancy Lieberman was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996. She has a wealth of coaching and front office experience. Lieberman became an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings in 2015 and is widely respected.
Becky Hammon is learning under one of the most universally respected coaches in Gregg Popovich. As the first full-time female assistant coach, she seems closest to shattering the glass ceiling.
There will be growing pains, but I believe Hammon will soon be ready to assume the role of NBA head coach. However, I have my doubts about society. But what the hell, rip off the band-aid already.
