NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made waves this week, saying that he believes the NBA will see a female head coach.
According to ESPN, Silver said that he wants a female coach to grab an opening “sooner rather than later.”
The Commissioner says that he thinks its “on on me to sort of ensure that it happens sooner rather than later.”
Currently, there are two female assistant coaches in the NBA, with San Antonio’s Becky Hammon and Sacramento’s Nancy Liebermann serving as the representatives. Both women previously played in the WNBA and have coaching experience.
On the court, the NBA has only one current female referee, Lauren Holtkamp, who is following in the footsteps of two predecessors.
In the other major sports (NFL, NHL, MLB) female coaches are almost nonexistent and officials are a rarity.
The NFL and NCAAFB has already seen a female referee, with Sarah Thomas serving as the first to officiate a major college football game, the first to officiate a bowl game, and the first to officiate in a Big Ten stadium. In the NFL, the Buffalo Bills made history by hiring the first female coach in league history. Kathryn Smith was hired in 2016 and serves as the team’s special teams quality control coach.
The NHL also made history in 2016, when the Arizona Coyotes brought in Dawn Braid to be the first full-time female NHL coach. Braid serves as a skating coach with the team.
Reportedly, there has only been one female to serve as an umpire in minor league baseball, with no women making it to the Major League level in a coaching or officiating capacity.
Overall, there is a clear lack of female presence in male-dominated sports. However, those in high places, like Silver, seem to believe this could change “sooner rather than later.”
Our question is, do you believe there will ever be a female head coach in a male player’s sport?
