Dawn Staley Under Scrutiny For 'Gross' Behavior Towards Reporter

Originally posted on The Spun | By Chris Rosvoglou | Last updated May 9, 2026 11:17 AM ET

We're still several months away from the start of the 2026-27 college basketball season, and yet, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley is facing a ton of criticism on social media this weekend.

Earlier this week, the Golden State Valkyries released former Iowa star Kate Martin. She averaged a career-high 6.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game last season. Matt Lively of CBS Sports Bay Area pointed out that Kaitlyn Chen and Laeticia Amihere earned the final two roster spots for Golden State.

“Kate Martin is the final cut from the Valkyries,” Matt Lively of CBS Sports Bay Area said. “They opt to keep Kaitlyn Chen and Laeticia Amihere over Martin. The move makes sense in terms of need but Martin is an incredibly popular player with a fan base that shows up in every city.”

Apparently, Lively's comments about Golden State's roster didn't sit well with Staley.

“Not cool to actually use other players names specifically Laeticia Amihere for your personal preface,” Staley tweeted at Lively. “I hope if you cover the Valkyries you can unbiasedly do so moving forward.”

Apr 4, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley speaks to the media during a press conference at the Final Four National Championship Practice at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Was this response from Staley justified or unwarranted?

Judging by the responses online, media members and WNBA fans agree that Staley shouldn't have called out Lively. After all, it's not like he insulted Amihere and Chen. He was simply stating that Martin has a large fan base.

"WNBA players shouldn’t be treated with kid gloves," Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports said. "There’s nothing wrong with a reporter specifying that there were three players for two spots."

"All respect to the Dawn, but personally I think this is uncalled for," Nathan Canilao of Bay Area News Group wrote. "@mattblively is one of the best in the biz and he was simply pointing out the roster crunch."

"There is a disconnect with people who advocate and request more/better coverage of women’s sports but then get testy when the coverage is actual journalism and not fawning praise and propaganda," Matt Zimmer commented.

"This is wildly inappropriate from Dawn Staley and frankly a gross misuse of her platform," ValkyriesMuse replied. "Competition for the last 2 spots was between the 3 aforementioned players, hence reported as such. Why to go at a them for doing their job?"

It'll be interesting to see if Staley eventually retracts her statement about Lively. For now though, she's getting picked apart online.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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