Gamecocks Coach Dawn Staley Calls Out NCAA Review Of Officiating In National Championship

South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley does not want the NCAA Review of Officiating of the National Championship game last season to keep those officials from other prominent assignments in the future.

South Carolina Gamecocks Head Coach Dawn Staley does not want the NCAA Review of Officiating of the National Championship game last season to keep those officials from other prominent assignments in the future.

The Grio reports the NCAA review of officiating in LSU’s 102-85 win over Iowa in April that gave the Tigers their first national championship was below expectations. Staley, whose Gamecocks lost to Iowa in the Final Four semifinal, said she hoped the review wouldn’t keep the officials from prominent games in the future.

So the independent review was done under anonymity but it is known who the officials were….all black and brown skinned women. Now that they’re thrown under the bus let’s not run them over. https://t.co/zAft4n6YDE
— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) November 8, 2023

The NCAA did not release its officiating report from the game. Instead, it shared general conclusions from the game and did not publicly release the names of the officials who worked the game, according to the outlet.

This wasn’t the first time the three-time Olympic gold medalist commented on officiating in the National Championship game. In May, Staley was on The Pivot podcast hosted by former NFL players Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder, and Fred Taylor and said she wasn’t sure if the narrative behind the game was “two Black officials or just because it was bad officiating, but I know what’s going to happen to those two officials … I’ve got to look out for them too because that’s the way it is.”

Staley, who has won two national titles in South Carolina and coached numerous players in the WNBA, is an unabashed supporter of Black women. Before the Gamecocks opened their season in Paris earlier this month against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Staley asked organizers to seek a Black female coach to be the opponent, leading to the selection of Notre Dame, coached by a Black woman, Niele Ivey.

After the Gamecocks 100-71 win. Staley ensured her team looked respectful during the photo commemorating the victory.