NBA fans divided as legendary female coach is considered by the New York Knicks
After reaching the team's first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years, the Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau.
The team considered multiple coaches for the position, but still have not inked a deal with anyone - leading to some out-of-the-box considerations.
This includes one of the top coaches in all of college basketball, but not one that has led a men's team.
According to the New York Post, the Knicks have reached out to University of South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley.
Staley's a very successful coach - having won three NCAA titles, nine conference tournament titles, and being named Coach of the Year four times.
It's unclear if the discussion that the Knicks had with Staley was a formal interview or more to gague interest.
This isn't the first time Staley's been considered for the position: she met with the Portland Trail Blazers regarding their vacancy back in 2021.
South Carolina's athletic director, Jeremiah Donati, confirmed the Knicks spoke to Staley - telling On3, 'If I were them, I would have called her too.'
Staley is a member of the Basketball Hall-of-Fame for her accomplishments as a player. She won three Olympic Gold Medals with Team USA from 1996-2004 and was a six-time WNBA All Star.
Still, there were split reactions to the news. On one hand, some fans believed that bringing in a highly successful basketball coaching legend would be good for the Knicks.
'Imagine seeing everything Dawn Staley has done and being mad she's in consideration for your head coaching position. She's had more success this decade than the Knicks have had as a franchise,' read one comment on X.
One Knicks fan account said, 'There's no non-sexist reason to be upset the Knicks reached out to Dawn Staley The Knicks need a coach and she's a good coach. Would it be surprising? Yes. Do I expect them to hire her? No. Should they speak with as wide a net possible of good coaches? Yes.'
On the other, there were plenty of comments - many of which leaned into sexism - suggesting she shouldn't be considered.
One comment said, 'Knicks are a playoff team trying to win now....Dawn has never coached the Men's game....which is entirely different than the Women's game. Not saying she couldn't eventually be a Men's coach....but she needs to start at the college level and work her way up. Come on now.
'Is this some sort of joke? Hopefully this 'approach' is because of her work at SC Gamecocks rather than ticking some DEI boxes. Given it's woke NY, this could be for any reason. Whether she can step up so many levels from the @WNBA to the real deal @NBA is hard to tell,' read another comment.
The Knicks have formally interviewed four candidates for the vacancy: Mike Brown, Taylor Jenkins, Micah Nori, and James Borrego.
Brown is reportedly being brought back for a second interview.
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