VP Kamala Harris shouts out Dawn Staley, No. 1 USC WBB on visit to Columbia
Vice President Kamala Harris ended her visit to Columbia on Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a stop at Colonial Life Arena to congratulate the No. 1 South Carolina women’s basketball team on its achievements.
The vice president joined the undefeated Gamecocks during shootaround ahead of their Monday night game against Kentucky.
“I am inspired by the passion, drive, and competitive edge of the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team,” Harris wrote in a post. “Thank you for welcoming me to campus today.”
Both sophomore forward Ashlyn Watkins and coach Dawn Staley spoke about the experience after their 98-36 rout of Kentucky.
“I was shocked,” Watkins said. “She’s beautiful, I’m not gonna lie. It was so many people that came with her. It was like she was the president. But it was really fun. She talked to us. I liked it. It was very motivational.”
Staley lauded Harris’ trailblazer status as the first woman and first person of color to hold the office of the vice president. The Hall of Fame coach admitted she was starstruck meeting Harris for the first time. Staley added that she hoped her team would be inspired by the vice president’s strength.
“When you’re the first, you get it all,” Staley said. “You get the good, the bad, the ugly, and you have to embrace it. And I do think that her strength is very evident. And I need our players to see the strength of that kind of woman.”
Staley also thanked Harris via X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Meeting @VP for the 1st time was royalty for me,” Staley wrote in a post. “I got emotional introducing her to @GamecockWBB because she is the DREAM FILLER for those who are climbing to do the unimaginable and to sit where it’s unpopular but right. Thank you Madam VP for inspiring us on this MLK Day!”
Harris was in Columbia Monday to deliver the keynote address for the annual “King Day at the Dome” event to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
South Carolina’s NAACP chapter has held a prayer service at the Zion Baptist Church and marched to the State House in honor of King for 24 years. The first King Day at the Dome event took place in 2000, when 46,000 people marched along Washington Street as a protest against the Confederate flag flying above the State House.
President Joe Biden and Harris are running for reelection this year.
This story was originally published January 15, 2024 at 4:46 PM.
