Dawn Staley apologizes to USC chief diversity officer for critical comments
South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon, offering an apology to USC athletics chief diversity officer Maria Hickman after previously saying the department needed someone “versed” in diversity issues to push it forward.
Staley’s original comments came during an online forum last Friday with The State about race relations in South Carolina. Speaking about her hopes for Gamecock athletics, Staley said the department needed more administrators “who look like me,” noting that there are only two high-ranking officials in the department who are Black — Hickman and Charles Waddell, special assistant to the athletics director.
“I think Maria Hickman is doing a great job given the position that she was given, which is (chief diversity officer). Do I think she’s doing a great job? Yes. Do I think she’s versed in diversity and inclusion? No, and I expressed that to her as well,” Staley said. “We need somebody else who is versed in it to take our university and our athletics department to another level.”
On Twitter, Staley said she was “speaking out of line” about Hickman and didn’t have a complete sense of her efforts to improve and promote diversity.
“Let me say this, I apologize to Maria Hickman for speaking out of line for all the things she’s doing and have done to advance black coaches, black student athletes including all student athletes and black administrators at @UofSC. She’s done more than I was privy to know,” Staley wrote.
In addition to her role as chief diversity officer, Hickman also serves as USC’s senior associate athletics director for academics and student development. She is also listed as the department’s senior women administrator, a title given to highest-ranking woman in every college athletics department.
Staley has said she hopes to unveil an action plan for South Carolina athletics to improve its diversity and race relations, especially in representation. She said during The State’s forum that she hoped that plan would be a model for others.
“I hope from there we can branch out into our communities, and I hope from there we can branch out into our state and be leaders and have model programs that other people across the country can model and have success with,” Staley said.
Staley has been especially active as of late when it comes to social justice issues, particularly racial equality. She attended a protest against racial injustice and police brutality at the South Carolina State House, penned an essay titled “Black People Are Tired” and used her social media profiles to advocate for change.
She even fired back at friend and former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley after Haley tweeted support for WNBA team owner and U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who criticized the WNBA’s decision to endorse the Black Lives Matter movement.
“The ultimate division is packed in this tweet. We shall and will overcome,” Staley wrote of Haley’s tweet commending Loeffler for “standing up to the mob.”
This story was originally published July 20, 2020 at 5:10 AM.
