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Missouri AD claims Dawn Staley “promoted” crowd spitting, racial epithets at South Carolina

By Howard Megdal

COLLEGE PARK, MD - NOVEMBER 13: Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley reacts to a referee's decision during a women's college basketball game between the Maryland Terrapins and the South Carolina Gamecocks on November 13, 2017, at Xfinity Center, in College Park, Maryland.South Carolina defeated Maryland 94-86.(Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - NOVEMBER 13: Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley reacts to a referee's decision during a women's college basketball game between the Maryland Terrapins and the South Carolina Gamecocks on November 13, 2017, at Xfinity Center, in College Park, Maryland.South Carolina defeated Maryland 94-86.(Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Sunday’s game between Missouri and South Carolina featured some of the best defense of the season, a battle between national superstars Sophie Cunningham and A’ja Wilson, and even a bit of a brawl.

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But to hear Missouri Athletic Director Jim Sterk tell it, the crowd in Columbia was not only ugly, spitting and using racial epithets directed at Missouri players, but Dawn Staley herself was responsible.

“We had, you know, players spit on, and called the n-word and things like that,” Sterk said during an interview on KTGR’s “The Big Show” Tuesday. “I mean, it was not a good environment, and unfortunately, I think, Coach Staley promoted that kind of atmosphere, and it’s unfortunate she felt she had to do that.”

While Missouri made it known immediately following the game that it had experienced these things, no one assigned blame anywhere but the fans themselves, with Missouri coach Robin Pingeton saying postgame, “I was really disappointed really disappointed with some things that transpired,” Pingeton said. “There’s no place in our game for that. Fans have to be better all around. Our side, their side.”

For their part, South Carolina investigated the allegations, and Gamecocks Athletic Director Ray Tanner issued this statement earlier Tuesday: ““The commitment to a secure environment for everyone at our home games, including fans, student-athletes, coaches and staff from the home and visiting teams is of the utmost importance. In anticipation of this rivalry game, the athletics department provided security for the Missouri basketball team, above its standard operating procedure. Upon hearing the accusations regarding our crowd’s behavior towards the Missouri team, the athletics department conducted a review of our operations from the game, including interviews with staff and security personnel. In this review, we received no confirmation of the alleged behavior directed at the visiting team by fans at the game.”

Then came the dramatic escalation by Sterk, directed toward Staley. That a white male is making the accusation about an African-American woman only exacerbates what is a profoundly irresponsible accusation absent proof. That it was directed at Staley, whose eloquence on issues of race is significant—for instance, she kept a piece of the net Carolyn Peck, the first African-American head coach to win a women’s basketball championship, and planned to give a piece of her net from 2017 to another African-American coach.

A South Carolina spokesperson said of Staley, “She does not have a comment at this time.”

The two teams are not scheduled to play again this year.

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