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Becky Hammon’s recent appointment as the first full-time assistant coach of NBA team the San Antonio Spurs is reflective of an emerging trend in professional sports typically dominated by men.
The hallmark of the Spurs organisation over the past 15 years of sustained success has been their ability to identify underrated and diverse sources of talent.
The recent emergence of Australian NBA player Patty Mills is testament to this theory.
Yet with the refreshing endorsement of Becky Hammon, perhaps they’ve again uncovered a unique field of expertise yet to be fully discovered in the NBA.
Hammon is set to retire from the WNBA this year with a elite level of experience and knowledge. She is a six-time WNBA All-Star, a two-time first team All-WNBA, and is seventh in points, fourth in assists and sixth in games in WNBA history.
Head-coach of the Spurs Gregg Popovich stated, “Having observed her working with our team this past season, I’m confident her basketball IQ, work ethic and interpersonal skills will be a great benefit to the Spurs”.
The NBA has a renowned reputation for being committed to facilitating equality after first hiring two female referees in 1997. Both Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner have gone on to officiate the NBA playoffs and have been recognised as outstanding officials at the highest level of American men’s sport.
To compliment this, only last week the NBA Players Association elected lawyer Michele Roberts as its new executive director. She became the first woman to lead an American union representing professional male athletes.
Los Angeles Clippers star and president of the players association Chris Paul labeled the appointment as “monumental” in celebrating what was a “historic choice”.
Importantly, what is happening in the NBA is part of a wider and exciting development in male-orientated sports in Australia.
While there is no denying there are still patriarchal barriers which limit female participation in many sports, male-dominated codes in Australia have started to challenge this persisting trend.
The appointment of Peta Searle as development coach at the St. Kilda Football Club in June marked a significant milestone for the AFL.
St. Kilda’s CEO Matt Finnis acknowledged that, “While our decision to appoint Peta was based on her experience, philosophies and values we do acknowledge and embrace the significance of Peta being the first woman to be appointed to coach at an AFL club”.
Such news has been bolstered by the announcement last week that the AFL could sanction two female AFL curtain raisers in 2015.
Women’s AFL has quickly become one of Australia’s fastest growing sports, with more than 169,000 females participating in the game nationally in 2013 – a significant jump from 57,000 in 2011.
Such on-field participation over time has been complemented by the appointment of Peggy O’Neal as president of the Richmond Football Club, Raelene Castle as CEO of the Canterbury Bulldogs and the Corene Strauss as the NRL’s Men of League CEO.
In the AFL there are now three female goal umpires, two referees on the verge of making their senior bow in the NRL, and Toni Caldwell was voted by the players in the NBL as the second-best referee in the 2014 season.
These are exciting developments for AFL, NRL and NBL fans across the country.
Such encouraging achievements are not only happening on the field. For example, for some time Caroline Wilson has been at the forefront of AFL reporting and journalism. What she has achieved in a typically male-dominated arena has been outstanding.
Her confidence and rigour has become the model to which emerging female sports journalists have aspired towards.
Overall, the injection of such talent in these sporting codes is only the beginning of what is an exciting trend around the world.
The growing presence of females in male-dominated sports will not only increase the standard of competition but also the quality of officiating, coaching, administration and analysis.
I cannot wait to see the positive effect it has on all our codes moving forward.
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