Dawn Staley, USC women’s sports coaches show support for Shane Beamer
Several of the women’s sports head coaches at the University South Carolina have come to the defense of Shane Beamer after he received national blowback for an unfortunate moment from Saturday’s football game.
Beamer has been under fire in recent days after the ESPN broadcast Saturday during the Georgia game showed him yelling for folks to “get off the field,” not knowing those people were USC’s women’s sports athletes who had just been recognized in honor of the Title IX anniversary.
The school attempted to get more than 200 athletes on the field for a brief ceremony and then off the field in the few minutes before the game’s second quarter started. USC athletic director Ray Tanner said organizers miscalculated how long that would take.
“I had no idea who was down there,” Beamer said. “I don’t meet with game management before games to clue me in on who’s being honored during a TV time-out or ceremony. We were so immersed on making a decision of what we’re going to do. I didn’t even look down there in the end zone. I was worried about what was going on in our own offensive huddle. I apologize to anyone I offended.”
Beamer said he intended no disrespect toward USC’s women’s sports athletes.
The topic, however, gained new traction Monday, with Beamer’s on-air reaction the subject of talk shows and national headlines, including a Washington Post story titled, “South Carolina football coach apologizes for demanding female athletes leave field.”
By Monday evening, USC women’s sports coaches, including basketball coach Dawn Staley, chimed in on social media to show him their support.
“Hey @CoachSBeamer sorry I’ve been under a rock the last few days but we know you have done nothing but support our programs since the day you became @GamecockFB head coach!” she tweeted.
Softball coach Beverly Smith concurred with Staley, adding, “@CoachSBeamer is a class act. He makes time to meet with @GamecockSoftbll recruits. See him at many #Gamecocks women’s sport events. He is a girl dad and respects women.”
Shelley and Jaime Smith of the women’s soccer team also took to Twitter to give Beamer a shoutout: “@CoachSBeamer the attacks/questions about you today have been unfair & uncalled for! You have been nothing but supportive of all @GamecocksOnline sports & honestly everything here at South Carolina since your arrival! We r proud to have such a good person leading @GamecockFB.”
Women’s golf coach Kalen Anderson added her thanks as well, saying Beamer goes “above and beyond” in supporting women’s athletics.
Beamer thanked the coaches via Twitter on Tuesday.
“Appreciate you @dawnstaley,” he wrote. “And thanks to @KalenAndersonSC @scsbcoach_bev &@SoccerSmithsSC for your tweets & to the other coaches that reached out. You’re awesome.”
Said Beamer to reporters on Sunday: “I hope people know me well enough to know what an advocate I am for women’s sports. I’ve got two daughters of my own that play sports. I’m at as many women’s athletic events at Carolina as I can possibly be because I believe in them and support them, and anyone that thinks otherwise surely doesn’t know me.”
Jyllissa Harris, one of the players honored on the field Saturday, said that the athletes should have been honored differently. But she also commended Beamer for his support of women’s athletics since his arrival.
“This is not about Coach Beamer and I honestly believe he supports all of us female athletes,” Harris tweeted. “It was about the fact that this was meant to honor us, and it seemed as if it was meant to check a box. Unfortunately Coach Beamer is getting a lot of the heat for it.”
