Dawn Staley speaks out powerfully in support of WNBA player alleging sexual assault

Count South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley among the vocal supporters of a WNBA star who has sued her college amid allegations of sexual assault.

On Wednesday afternoon, Atlanta Dream guard Layshia Clarendon filed a lawsuit against the University of California, Berkeley and a longtime athletics department employee, accusing the man, Mohamed Muqtar, of sexually assaulting her while she was a freshman at Cal in 2009, and the university of negligence for not firing Muqtar despite other complaints against him.

By Wednesday night, Staley had chimed in on Twitter, writing that Clarendon is a “a brave soldier and I’m proud to say in the little time we spent together you exude the strength you showed today.”

This is not the first time Staley has spoken out about sexual assault and abuse. After women’s basketball star Breanna Stewart revealed in an essay for The Players’ Tribune this past October that she had been sexually abused as a child, Staley said Stewart’s decision to speak out would be remembered far longer than her accolades on the court.

“For her to speak out on it and give us a bird’s-eye view of what sexual abuse looks like is incredibly meaningful,” Staley said.

This story was originally published January 17, 2018 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Dawn Staley speaks out powerfully in support of WNBA player alleging sexual assault."