Written by Sabine Démosthènes
While I’m enjoying a big cup of tea on my train ride into the city of a thousand bells, the sun is shining brightly and it feels like a new season of hope and change is coming.
Speaking of change, or should I say of brand new beginnings, Becky Hammon is being considered for the new head coach of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. This is fantastic news! She was the first woman ever to be appointed assistant coach in the history of the NBA with The Spurs.
But, like in everything unconventional, there is some controversy about this consideration. Again, we are moving forward, but why is there is still stigma around a woman being the head coach of a national sports team?
For example, it would be great to see more men having positions like school teachers, nurses, or receptionists that are professions known for being filled more often by women. So, when a man gets this job or this career, it shouldn’t be a surprise. For me, it goes both ways. Right?!
Becky Hammon didn’t get into talks for this position straight out of college. First of all, she was a professional basketball player (yeah!) for the WNBA.
I can hear some people saying “that doesn’t mean she is qualified.” On top of that, she was the righthand woman to probably the best coach in the league for four years! She had the opportunity to learn from Gregg Popovich and that is to be taken into consideration.
For both this argument, my opinion is that when you have the best mentor and you are a born leader, why not take the plunge?
Like every head coach in the whole world, she is well equipped and she will still learn and improve.
But let’s ask the real question – I would like to get back to my example: if a male nurse was appointed to be the head nurse at one of the best hospitals in the country, and he had graduated from a graduate-level nursing program 7 years earlier, was an assistant head nurse for 4 years and the people around him saw him as a good nurse and leader, would we be having the same conversation about whether or not he is the right person for the job?
Mrs. Hammon should be considered for the top job such as the nurse regarding their gender.
Oh, I can hear voices saying “we’ve seen so many former NBA players fail as coaches.” But, why don’t we talk about the ones that have succeeded even when they were not ballers to began with…
I do believe that everyone has a chance to succeed at their ambitions.
Can’t we just help them achieve instead of throwing stones and saying, if they do fail, we told you so?
