Former Women's College Coaches React To Dawn Staley: 'Terribly Disappointed'

South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley, who just won her third NCAA Championship on Sunday, made headlines on Saturday – the day before beating Iowa in the championship – when she said that transgender women (biological men) should be allowed to play women's sports. 

During an off-day presser, OutKick asked Staley – one of the most prominent figures in all of women's sports – what her position was on transgender women competing in women's sports. 

"If you consider yourself a woman, and you want to play sports, or vice versa, you should be able to play. That’s my opinion," Staley said. She then asked if OutKick wanted a deeper answer. 

"Do you believe transgender women should be allowed to participate in women's college basketball?" I responded. 

"Yes," Staley replied. "So now the barnstormer people are going to flood my timeline and be a distraction to me on one of the biggest days of our game, and I'm OK with that. I really am."

Predictably, those in the left-wing media leaped to Staley's defense and praised her for her "inclusivity." Those same people attacked OutKick – and me, specifically – for asking her that question in the first place. There are myriad reasons why the question was perfectly reasonable, appropriate, and even, necessary to ask at that moment. I laid those out in a previous column. 

But while many in the media, most of whom are not actually affected by this issue, supported Staley, several former women's coaches and ambassadors for the Independent Women's Forum (IWF) reached out to OutKick to express their dissatisfaction with Staley's answer. 

Former women's college coaches want Dawn Staley to know that they're displeased that she would take the position of supporting biological males competing in women's sports. 

Barbara Ehardt, an Idaho State Representative from District 33 and former women's basketball head coach at Cal State Fullerton, said she was "terribly disappointed" that Staley believes transgender women should be allowed to participate in women's sports. 

"We had one of the biggest stages that we've ever had in women's sports," Ehardt told OutKick. "To have Dawn Staley, on the biggest stage and at a time when we've received unprecedented support and following, hem and haw and then say, if they identify as women they should play? I'm terribly disappointed." 

Barbara Ehardt, an Idaho Republican state representative who authored a similar bill in her own state, shares testimony in support of House Bill 1041 at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis. The bill, which was voted to move on to the House floor, prohibits transgender girls from playing on girls sports teams at the K-12 level.

(Jenna Watson/Indy Star/USA Today Network)

Kim Russell, a former women's lacrosse coach at Oberlin College who was ousted from that position for saying that biological men should not be competing in women's sports, told OutKick that she doesn't think Staley truly believes biological males belong in women's sports, but the Gamecocks head coach was afraid to say that. 

"I think Dawn Staley is saying that because she's afraid of hurting one kid," Russell said. "That's how I believe a lot of people will think. 'I don't want to say something that might cause a kid to think that I don't care about them.'" 

Russell pointed out that Staley is a compassionate person, and that probably contributed to her stance. 

"My heart believes that Dawn Staley did not want to have a kid commit suicide because she said something against trans," Russell said. 

Dawn Staley takes questions from the media on Saturday morning, prior to Sunday's National Championship victory over Iowa.

(USA Today Sports)

When it comes to transgender young people, the media often cites that being excluded from anything – including sports – can lead to self-harm. Of course, they don't usually report that those young people are often suffering from a myriad of mental health conditions, but it's a way to scare people like Staley into supporting something she might not believe in. 

Instead, the media tells us that our "transphobic society" makes them feel unwanted enough to harm themselves. This is a very complex issue, and thus, requires further study. But using the threat of suicide to get people on board with an agenda is a tried-and-true tactic. 

The question becomes, though, what about the young girls harmed by allowing these biological males to invade their sports and their locker rooms? 

"For every male that is allowed to play on a women's or girls' team, it's not just one roster spot that's taken away," Russell said. "There's a privacy issue if they're using the same locker rooms or bathrooms, and there are safety concerns for these girls." 

Several female athletes, particularly at the high school level, have been badly injured after being forced to compete against biological males identifying as females. 

READ: Volleyball Player Injured By Trans Athlete Fires Back At Dems Who Dismiss Safety Concerns

Jamie Holmes, a former head women's volleyball coach at UC Davis, says that politics have turned a "common sense" issue into a divisive one. 

"There's such a hot political agenda across our country, so I understand why Dawn Staley had to say what she had to say," Holmes told OutKick. 

"I hope that as the years go by and as the months go by, she'll openly say that she was wrong about that. I hope that all coaches that are in the spotlight and have that platform will say the right thing and not be politically swayed by what the federal government is trying to do, which is to divide people." 

Former women's volleyball coach Jamie Holmes speaks on stage at the "Our Bodies, Our Sports" rally at the NCAA Convention. 

(Independent Women's Forum)

Part of the issue for Staley is that she competes in women's college basketball under the NCAA. It was the NCAA that allowed Lia (formerly Will) Thomas to win a women's National Championship in swimming. They also allowed Thomas to change in the women's locker room, among the women, despite having fully-intact male genitalia. 

"The NCAA obviously takes the position that men – who identify as women – should be competing on women's teams and taking away those opportunities and records," Holmes said. "Staley's university, South Carolina, is probably is in line with the NCAA. It's a very safe answer for her to continue to have favor with her university in the NCAA."

"The NCAA has done nothing to stand up for women," Ehardt said. "We need the pressure to come to force the NCAA to do the right thing. We need our biggest stars to have courage and to stand up." 

Earlier this week, the NAIA issued a ruling barring biological males from competing in women's sports. All three former coaches and IWF ambassadors that spoke to OutKick applauded that decision. 

"To see an organization have common-sense policies is just a breath of fresh air," said Holmes. "It gives me hope that the NCAA and other governing bodies across the United States, and perhaps the world, will start writing more common-sense policies." 

"Kudos to the NAIA for standing up for women and standing up for Title IX," Ehardt added. "It was just simply the right thing to do." 

How is this such a divisive issue when the vast majority of Americans believe that biological men should not be competing in women's sports? 

Poll after poll shows that the vast majority of United States citizens do not think biological men should be allowed to participate in women's sports. And, with each year that passes, those numbers increase as we see more and more instances of this happening. 

Russell pointed out that, despite the clear support from citizens, many people – including many Democratic politicians – are afraid to reveal their true feelings on the issue. 

"I believe media pressure is why many people are not speaking up, even though they believe that girls' and women's sports should be female only," she said. 

"I've spoken in front of Congress," Russell continued. "The only delegates who are listening are Republicans. Not one Democratic representative is stepping up even though most Democrats believe that women's and girls' sports should be kept female only." 

Women's lacrosse coach Kim Russell speaks on stage at the "Our Bodies, Our Sports" rally at the NCAA Convention. 

(Independent Women's Forum)

Ehardt is one of those Republican members of the government trying to make changes at the legislative level. 

"The Biden administration obviously is turning things upside down," she said. "This is where we need strong governors and strong legislative bodies that will stand up for their 10th Amendment rights for state sovereignty and say ‘no.’ 

"I was the original sponsor, bringing 'The Fairness in Women's Sports Act' to prevent biological males from competing against girls and women," Ehardt added. "I got that passed in 2020. Since that time, I have testified in most of the states that have brought it. I just testified in Alaska and if Alaska passes their act, we'd have 25 states that would have passed that legislation in the course of the last four years." 

Many people try to argue that this issue isn't important because there aren't that many transgender athletes. 

One of the biggest criticisms lobbed at people fighting for fairness in women's sports, myself included, is that this "isn't a real issue" because it "doesn't happen that often." 

I can say, firsthand, that I've had several parents come to me and want to tell the stories of their daughters, but couldn't for fear that their daughter might receive negative backlash. That's why so many of these stories go unreported. 

Russell had a similar story to tell. 

"I have a friend whose daughter plays sports, and she's an ex-athlete," she said. "My friend is not going to speak up because she's afraid it would affect her daughter." 

But the number of biological males competing in women's sports doesn't matter, although it increases every year. Every one of the three former coaches – Ehardt, Russell and Holmes – said the same thing: If one man replaces one woman in sports, that's too many.

"There is absolutely never any circumstance under which a biological male should be able to play, compete, or take the spot of a woman in sports. Never, ever. Period," Ehardt said. 

Never, ever, period, indeed.