NBA commissioner Adam Silver is committed to having a female head coach in the Association in the near future. He made that much clear while talking about the league’s “LeanIn.org” campaign, per ESPN.com’s Ohm Youngmisuk:
NBA commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN he believes there will be a female head coach in his league, and he wants it to happen “sooner rather than later.”
“There definitely will,” Silver said when asked about a woman becoming an NBA head coach. “And I think it is on me to sort of ensure that it happens sooner rather than later.”
If this frustrates or peeves or negatively rattles you in the slightest, you’re an idiot. Case closed. The NBA needs female head coaches. This progression is long overdue, speaking to the boys club this league, and most other professional sporting entities, have become. That the NBA seems committed to changing this is a small step in the right direction, but we have to wait for said vision to be actualized before commending this stance too much. That’s not to take anything away from Silver’s plan; it’s the right one. But it needs to be more than just a plan.
To that end, San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon may be the one who can blaze a trail for everyone else. Ask anyone on that team, and they’ll tell you she’s a brilliant basketball mind. It doesn’t have to be head coach Gregg Popovich, or even a long-tenured player who’s inclined to believe whatever Pop does. It can be anyone, and they’ll likely tell you the same thing.
Silver, per Youngmisuk, would also like to see more female referees. Lauren Holtkamp is the only woman official at the moment. The commissioner said the league will look to “drastically” increase its female refereeing ranks in the future.
