‘Everybody won’: The meaning of Taylor, Staley breaking barriers in SEC title game

As a child, Joni Crenshaw had a lot of thoughts. She grew up in Meridian, Mississippi through the 1980s, only a stone’s throw from the racial oppression, civil rights movements and tragedy that came as a result in the Magnolia State.

The sit-down conversations came early from her parents so she could have a concrete understanding. A young Joni knew of the legacy of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old boy who was lynched after accusations of offending a white woman in a grocery store.

A young Joni knew the story of Civil Rights icon Medgar Evers, who led efforts with the NAACP for voting rights and increased opportunities for African-American citizens. He was later assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi, 90 miles from where the Crenshaw kids were raised.

The history stuck with Crenshaw, because she saw the effects of it through her own lenses. A young Joni saw grandparents with only a third- and fifth-grade education because a job took precedence. She remembers a village of elders reminding her brother that, “You can be whatever you want.”

Years of history and racial inequality, however, said it would be difficult.

“Those experiences have made me someone who sees things and can try to explain things,” said the now-Joni Taylor, the sixth-year head coach for Georgia women’s basketball. “You look at the current state of our country, and it gives me perspective.”

Taylor defied the odds as a leader in a high-ranking profession, a representative for Black women and minorities as a whole.

On Sunday, history wrote a chapter of empowerment on the corner of Academy and North streets inside Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Taylor stood on one sideline. South Carolina coach and close friend Dawn Staley stood on the other. They were coaching in the SEC tournament championship, and it marked the first time that two Black head coaches were represented in a Power Five title game.

Georgia lost to South Carolina, 67-62, to finish a tournament run that led to its first title appearance since 2004. On Sunday afternoon, however, something meant more than basketball.

Another glass ceiling shattered.

“It shows what we’re capable of,” Taylor said after the game. “Everybody won today.”

After South Carolina topped Tennessee in the SEC tournament semifinal, the stage was set by Saturday night. Staley spoke to an SEC Network crew in the studio and immediately thought of the history-marking moment.

Taylor and Staley have a bond that dates back to early coaching days. Taylor’s husband, Darius Taylor, used to work for Staley at Temple and South Carolina. The two coaches have been voices for racial inequalities and promoting numerous aspects of life before basketball. Taylor runs a weekly seminar for women in the community called “Beyond Basketball,” and Staley spoke at one of the meetings last season.

Hand in hand, these coaches of SEC powers celebrate the victories of empowerment as equal to on-court success.

“We are mirroring what the rest of the country can look like when you give Black women an opportunity to head some programs,” Staley said in the television interview that went viral.

Ahead of the 2020-21 season, Black female coaches were underrepresented among seven conferences — Power Five, American Athletic and Big East. The SEC blew other leagues away with half (seven of 14) coaches being Black women before Auburn recently dismissed Terri Williams-Flournoy.

The other six conferences combined for eight Black women in leadership positions. The Big East and Big 12 did not have one representative. Four Black women were hired this offseason: Kara Lawson (Duke), Kyra Elzy (Kentucky), Niele Ivey (Notre Dame) and Nikki McCray-Penson (Mississippi State).

Staley, after cutting down the nets Sunday, voiced her stance on representation across Division I women’s college basketball. She believes that there have been too many long-standing Black assistant coaches (Georgia has two on a majority-Black staff: Robert Mosley and Chelsea Newton) who are deserving of head-coaching roles.

“I think what you saw gives Black women hope that they can represent in this way,” Staley said. “Some have paid their dues to get at least an opportunity. Real opportunities to give most of the young ladies we coach, a role model, someone that looks like them.”

These coaches were given opportunities on a whim, and neither of them originally wanted them.

Taylor spent a fifth season as a graduate assistant for Alabama and its men’s basketball program. Her former coach, Michael Murphy, offered her a coaching and recruiting coordinator role at Troy in 2000, right out of college for a graduate who aspired to be a school counselor. Taylor, years later, eventually replaced legendary coach Andy Landers.

Staley got her break from former Temple athletic director Dave O’Brien, who approached a target for the job who was a recent WNBA draftee. Staley resisted offers and at the time had no desire to be a coach. She became a trailblazer for women’s basketball coaches at Temple before eventually landing in Columbia.

Now, they’re writing success stories as Black women. They’re leading teams with top seeds in the NCAA tournament and putting their programs on the biggest platforms.

“You can’t dream what you can’t see,” Taylor said. “(Sunday) was a chance for people to dream something that they haven’t seen before. I’m very proud to be a part of it.”

An older Joni reached a feat that a younger version of herself might’ve seen as surreal. She remembered watching games in high school, and didn’t remember too many Black coaches making a mark in championship games.

On Sunday, there were two on the same court. A moment of empowerment for Black women came full circle. It might have once seemed unlikely, but these two leaders are hopeful it becomes a norm.

“This is nothing against coaches of other ethnicities,” Staley said. “It’s everything for what has been lacking in our game.”

This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 10:18 AM with the headline "‘Everybody won’: The meaning of Taylor, Staley breaking barriers in SEC title game."