Silver wants a female coach in the league...

[magee]

I wasn't trying to get any dumber today, yet here we after reading some of the responses in this thread.

I have a little bias in this discussion, since my little sister is the Associate Head Coach for the women's gymnastics program at the University of Missouri, in a sport where the majority of head coaches are still men.

There will be a woman Head Coach in the NBA soon. The optics may play a huge part in it, but there are a ton of women in basketball who would make better Head coaches than some of the Head coaches the NBA has seen in general.

Becky Hammon is the clear-cut favorite, but my two favorites coaches who might get a chance are Dawn Staley, who is leading a juggernaut at South Carolina, and Teresa Weatherspoon, who is an assistant with the Pelicans right now.

[hugepatsfan]

Every single head coach in the history of this league has been a male. It’s unfathomable to me that would be the case without some level of systemic bias. I think years of that have put the league in a spot where women are behind men in terms of viewing NBA head coach as a viable career goal worth pursuing, so there’s definitely an obstacle there. But without putting an exact number on it in terms of how many or when they should be hired, he’s absolutely right that we should eventually see a woman head coach.

[KingDavid]

It would be inevitable that one day that female coach would be involved in a romantic relationship with a player. Better to just avoid the whole situation all together.

You're talking about multimillionaire pro athletes and coaches here, not Joe schmos. They attract the most beautiful women in the world in their primes without effort. Extremely unlikely that A, a pro player would smash a coach and B, a female coach would jeopardize her history shifting position for some fling she could get anywhere else. If that were going to happen, you'd hear some grumblings about female assistant coaches fraternizing with pro players already. Afaik, that is not the case. Too much at stake. Women are the gatekeepers of sex and I cannot imagine one at that level of regard and professionalism screwing that up for a player in the league.

[JayMKE]

Silver is always posturing, its not “market irregularity” that there are no women coaching in a league that has never had a female player. Its remarkable that that someone like Becky Hammon might have a shot but she’s an exception to the rule, how many female coaches of male players are there in college or prep level?

[KingDavid]

I wasn't trying to get any dumber today, yet here we after reading some of the responses in this thread.

I have a little bias in this discussion, since my little sister is the Associate Head Coach for the women's gymnastics program at the University of Missouri, in a sport where the majority of head coaches are still men.

There will be a woman Head Coach in the NBA soon. The optics may play a huge part in it, but there are a ton of women in basketball who would make better Head coaches than some of the Head coaches the NBA has seen in general.

Becky Hammon is the clear-cut favorite, but my two favorites coaches who might get a chance are Dawn Staley, who is leading a juggernaut at South Carolina, and Teresa Weatherspoon, who is an assistant with the Pelicans right now.

Know what, I'd love to hear from these coaches and ask them the differences and adjustments they have to make to lead these men as assistants so far. Would make a fantastic read.

[KingDavid]

Silver is always posturing, its not “market irregularity” that there are no women coaching in a league that has never had a female player. Its remarkable that that someone like Becky Hammon might have a shot but she’s an exception to the rule, how many female coaches of male players are there in college or prep level?

Well, the WNBA has never had a male player and they have male coaches apparently? So there's a discussion to be had there if that's the case.

I get you though. More than you think.

[Pharmcat]

If the individual is talented, their gender, age, race, religion is irrelevant. But just having a female HC for the sake of it is silly, IMHO

This is the typical talking point we hear but it never plays out that way. What did Jeff saturday do to get the colts job?

In the nba people who haven’t put in the time and experience that hammon has have gotten jobs over her. It’s clearly not about talent

[Pharmcat]

He should step up and be a leader and hire a female deputy commissioner. Or he should resign and recommend a woman take his place as the commish. Leadership starts from the top

https://careers.nba.com/leadership/

I see more females there than nba head coaching

[Pharmcat]

We need a female commissioner

On a serious note, women getting opportunities to head coach in the league would be a good thing. But there will be a lot of political pressure on the time to hire the first woman HC in the NBA. Essentially can't fire her if the team struggles. And any opposing candidates will have people trying to tear them down.

Don't forget, Becky Hammon even being in consideration for the blazers position created a wave of deranged feminists and white knights trying to character assassinate Chauncey Billups for something that nobody even brought up again in his time as a player, or the various times he was rumored to be in discussion for GM positions. Who by the way, is doing a fantastic job right now.

Billups HC record is 43-68, not so fantastic

[Pelon chingon]

It would be inevitable that one day that female coach would be involved in a romantic relationship with a player. Better to just avoid the whole situation all together.

You're talking about multimillionaire pro athletes and coaches here, not Joe schmos. They attract the most beautiful women in the world in their primes without effort. Extremely unlikely that A, a pro player would smash a coach and B, a female coach would jeopardize her history shifting position for some fling she could get anywhere else. If that were going to happen, you'd hear some grumblings about female assistant coaches fraternizing with pro players already. Afaik, that is not the case. Too much at stake. Women are the gatekeepers of sex and I cannot imagine one at that level of regard and professionalism screwing that up for a player in the league.

We ain't nothing but mammals.

[Pharmcat]

You need to be THAT GOOD to be the first at something, so that you don’t fail and potentially close the door for others, and that’s a lot of pressure on that first individual.

Thing is, I think it’s very likely Becky is THAT GOOD. I hope she gets a shot soon. I’d take her for my team next year.

IMO, Becky is literately the only female even qualified from the female pool that is out there. I would also take her on a starting young team if I was GM too, even over other quailied men. That's how good I think she is. I wouldn't hire any other woman though.

But she doesn’t get a gig tho. All of this will die down if she gets a chance that’s she’s totally qualified for but isn’t getting

[JayMKE]

Silver is always posturing, its not “market irregularity” that there are no women coaching in a league that has never had a female player. Its remarkable that that someone like Becky Hammon might have a shot but she’s an exception to the rule, how many female coaches of male players are there in college or prep level?

Well, the WNBA has never had a male player and they have male coaches apparently? So there's a discussion to be had there if that's the case.

I get you though. More than you think.

Maybe it will change in the future but I believe penised individuals are not allowed to play in the WNBA and there are a only a handful of female assistant coaches on any level that work with male players to even draw from.

[KingDavid]

It would be inevitable that one day that female coach would be involved in a romantic relationship with a player. Better to just avoid the whole situation all together.

You're talking about multimillionaire pro athletes and coaches here, not Joe schmos. They attract the most beautiful women in the world in their primes without effort. Extremely unlikely that A, a pro player would smash a coach and B, a female coach would jeopardize her history shifting position for some fling she could get anywhere else. If that were going to happen, you'd hear some grumblings about female assistant coaches fraternizing with pro players already. Afaik, that is not the case. Too much at stake. Women are the gatekeepers of sex and I cannot imagine one at that level of regard and professionalism screwing that up for a player in the league.

We ain't nothing but mammals.

That is true, but you're blurring lines. That is an oversimplification of a complex problem. There's heavy risk associated with those decisions. Generational wealth sized risk. Most of us aren't faced with that level of pressure to stay in line. For the average population, sure. But we're talking about a league heralding unimaginable wealth. Again, as the gatekeepers of sex (I'm saying that line for a reason), I do not at all expect any woman with the mind, discipline, and leadership of a pro coach to risk that level of wealth for a fling. Too much to lose.

[Pharmcat]

I haven't read the entire thread, so maybe someone has already written something similar, but I wouldn't call it bias. Coaches are often recruited among former players who know the league, who know the teams, etc. Deserving players then get a job as an assistant coach with their former teams and if they prove themselves there, they may get promoted. This is not bias. Only men play in the NBA, that's just reality.

I also don't see what Silver's point is. In my opinion, all the attention will only make things worse if a woman really does become a head coach in the NBA. The media attention and pressure will be enormous and it will be treated completely different than if a man had gotten the job. Why not see it as a normal hire if it happens? Statements like Silver's do exactly the opposite of what his possible goal is.

We used to be further along as a society. The ideal used to be that gender, skin color or sexual orientation should not play a role in whether someone gets a job, how someone is treated in court or whether I like someone or not. People should be judged by their actions. But for a few years now, those old ideals have been completely abandoned and people are just talking about gender, skin color or sexual orientation and setting people against each other. In my opinion, this is definitely not progress.

I also agree what some others wrote here that Silver is pretty hypocritical here. If it's so important to him that women get high-level jobs in the NBA, he should resign and appoint a woman as his successor. When you point a finger at others, three fingers on the same hand point back at you.

Becky Hammon has played the game, coached summer league, been an assistant coach, and cant get a gig. Meanwhile other male coaches who have less coaching experience than her have gotten gigs. So clearly its not about "actions".

And people telling Adam silver to quit are just deflecting because 1) it doesnt solve the issue at hand and 2) someone has already been fired and the position is open is when coaches apply to the role.

[Chuck Everett]

What makes Becky Hammon a better candidate than someone like Sam Cassell or Charles Lee or Johnny Bryant (or Will Hardy or Joe Mazzulla)? You can't just say she deserves a job because it's time for a woman. If she interviews and the team feels she deserves the job, that's it. But some people act like we live in a world where there aren't more qualified people than her for the job already grinding it out in the NBA as well. There might be several people better than her who have yet to sniff a job.

[Optms]

What makes Becky Hammon a better candidate than someone like Sam Cassell or Charles Lee or Johnny Bryant (or Will Hardy or Joe Mazzulla)? You can't just say she deserves a job because it's time for a woman. If she interviews and the team feels she deserves the job, that's it. But some people act like we live in a world where there aren't more qualified people than her for the job already grinding it out in the NBA as well. There might be several people better than her who have yet to sniff a job.

She was groomed under coach Popovich for several years, the same way Udoka was. That's all I need to know. Those other guys you mentioned deserve a shot, especially Cassell, but I'm not taking any of them over Hammon if I'm starting a team.

[Pelon chingon]

You're talking about multimillionaire pro athletes and coaches here, not Joe schmos. They attract the most beautiful women in the world in their primes without effort. Extremely unlikely that A, a pro player would smash a coach and B, a female coach would jeopardize her history shifting position for some fling she could get anywhere else. If that were going to happen, you'd hear some grumblings about female assistant coaches fraternizing with pro players already. Afaik, that is not the case. Too much at stake. Women are the gatekeepers of sex and I cannot imagine one at that level of regard and professionalism screwing that up for a player in the league.

We ain't nothing but mammals.

That is true, but you're blurring lines. That is an oversimplification of a complex problem. There's heavy risk associated with those decisions. Generational wealth sized risk. Most of us aren't faced with that level of pressure to stay in line. For the average population, sure. But we're talking about a league heralding unimaginable wealth. Again, as the gatekeepers of sex (I'm saying that line for a reason), I do not at all expect any woman with the mind, discipline, and leadership of a pro coach to risk that level of wealth for a fling. Too much to lose.

Your over thinking it. Lots of travel, constantly in hotels away from home ect ect. Sex always wins its undefeated.

[Pharmcat]

What makes Becky Hammon a better candidate than someone like Sam Cassell or Charles Lee or Johnny Bryant (or Will Hardy or Joe Mazzulla)? You can't just say she deserves a job because it's time for a woman. If she interviews and the team feels she deserves the job, that's it. But some people act like we live in a world where there aren't more qualified people than her for the job already grinding it out in the NBA as well. There might be several people better than her who have yet to sniff a job.

coaches in the last couple years who have less coaching experience than Becky have gotten jobs over her. So its clearly not about qualifications

[Optms]

We ain't nothing but mammals.

That is true, but you're blurring lines. That is an oversimplification of a complex problem. There's heavy risk associated with those decisions. Generational wealth sized risk. Most of us aren't faced with that level of pressure to stay in line. For the average population, sure. But we're talking about a league heralding unimaginable wealth. Again, as the gatekeepers of sex (I'm saying that line for a reason), I do not at all expect any woman with the mind, discipline, and leadership of a pro coach to risk that level of wealth for a fling. Too much to lose.

Your over thinking it. Lots of travel, constantly in hotels away from home ect ect. Sex always wins its undefeated.

Nothing wrong with that.

Let em screw one another. Sex is healthy anyway. As long as it doesn't effect team play, everyone here is an adult. Also: Free Udoka.

[OxAndFox]

You need to be THAT GOOD to be the first at something, so that you don’t fail and potentially close the door for others, and that’s a lot of pressure on that first individual.

Thing is, I think it’s very likely Becky is THAT GOOD. I hope she gets a shot soon. I’d take her for my team next year.

IMO, Becky is literately the only female even qualified from the female pool that is out there. I would also take her on a starting young team if I was GM too, even over other quailied men. That's how good I think she is. I wouldn't hire any other woman though.

I think it would be best for someone like Becky to start out on a rebuilding team more than anything. A team that doesn't have the "star" player yet so there is a period where a female coach can work her way into the job without having the pressure of winning. Create a culture and system that they want without player pushback. Not an easy thing to do, but it would give a first time coach a 3 year window before any real pressure, unless there are problems with coaching style etc.
I think teams like Orlando, Detroit, Spurs would be perfect. OKC is probably a little more advanced, but a couple of years ago they would have been too. Teams with young players that have their head screwed on.