Dawn Staley Says Her Parents Helped Shape Who She Is Today

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Steph Dwilson | Last updated Apr 6, 2025 2:25 PM ET

Dawn Staley, head coach for South Carolina women's basketball, is an influential figure in the sports world. She has said that her parents, Clarence and Estelle Staley, had a big impact on who the coach is today.

Both were from South Carolina, and both moved to North Philadelphia in the 1950s when they were teens, ESPN reported. They were married at a young age and had five children: three boys (Lawrence, Anthony and Eric) and two girls (Tracey and Dawn.) Staley is the youngest.

Staley told ESPN that she was very close to her mother growing up. She said she was a good student because getting good grades let her play basketball.

"I feared my mother," she told ESPN. "She didn't spare the rod. I had parameters."

Staley is thankful for that structure in her life.

"My parents made me," she said. "My foundation is rooted in discipline. They gave me that."

Staley's father died in 2006 after an illness, ESPN reported.

Staley once wrote about her mother: "I think about what she made possible for me. And maybe what I'm supposed to make possible for others. She left South Carolina because of the racial divide. I came back with a hope to bridge it."

Her mother Estelle had a stroke shortly before Staley took her job at South Carolina in 2009. In August 2017, Estelle died after battling Alzheimer's, The State reported. Her mother had been living with Staley.

About a year after her mother died, in June 2018, Staley donated her mother's wheelchair to a family in need, The State reported.

She posted on Twitter, seeking a family who could use a "sentimental wheelchair that was used by my mother." Audrey Davis responded on Twitter just a few minutes later, saying her father had a stroke and they didn't have a wheelchair for him, The State reported. Staley left the wheelchair at the Gamecocks' team office for Davis.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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