WNBA legend questions equality in coaching hires

When you think of the WNBA's past faces, it’s hard not to mention the incomparable Lisa Leslie. Her accolades speak for themselves: MVP, All-Star and perhaps most notably, the first woman to ever dunk in the WNBA.

On a recent guest episode of Angel Reese’s podcast "Unapologetically Angel," the former L.A. Sparks franchise player, Olympic gold medalist and WNBA champion sat down with her mentee for a great conversation about basketball, fashion and their league experiences in the 30-year gap that exists between their careers. 

In a segment where fans get to submit questions for the WNBA legend, Angel read out a question from a listener asking if Leslie would ever consider becoming a head coach for a WNBA team. 

Leslie answers saying that she’s never said this publicly, but she submitted her name to coach for two teams this year. Although she made it to the final rounds, she was ultimately rejected. 

"I put my name in a hat to coach this year…I won’t say who those two teams are but I did not get picked," Leslie said.

Though fans have speculated that she may have applied for coaching positions with the Chicago Sky and Los Angeles Sparks, eight teams have gone through coaching changes in the WNBA offseason.

Leslie states she would not be putting herself forward to coach a WNBA team again.

"You gotta be 10 times as great to be a Black woman in this industry…who these people hired are not better than me & what I could do for these teams and players," Leslie said.

Though Leslie speaks with no bad blood in her tone and even goes on to praise the WNBA and expressing her interest in seeing the 2025 draft, this revelation is rather disappointing. 

The league was created for women to play and coach professionally. All players identify as women, but at least 60 percent of them identify as Black/African-American or have mixed Black heritage. 

Yet, the coaching shift in the last few months doesn’t seem to reflect that. Only one of the three Black coaches in the WNBA is a woman. Of the eight coaching shuffles and hires that took place this offseason, only three happen to be women, including Stephanie White, former head coach of the Connecticut Sun and now current head coach of the Indiana Fever.

The WNBA is not only an opportunity for great female basketball players to play the game they love professionally, but it should also be a space for female coaches to get opportunities that don't seem to be available to them in the NBA.

Though disappointed, Leslie doesn’t seem to be knocked down by it, saying, "What’s for me is for me."

And things have been for her, with contracts consistently rolling in for the legend, including the opportunity to call games in Unrivaled, as well as making a cameo in Angel Reese’s new McDonald’s commercial. 

The WNBA is still sorting through bids for the 16th expansion team. New teams in Portland and Toronto have yet to announce head coaches. Hopefully, we’ll see more women in these positions to reflect the league people have grown to love.