Tag: Becky Hammon

If Hammon chooses to accept either the …

If Hammon chooses to accept either the Liberty or Aces job, it’s expected to take place in the lead up to the WNBA’s January free agency, sources tell The Athletic. The Liberty head coaching job is currently open after New York and Walt Hopkins parted ways in early December. The Aces job is currently filled by Bill Laimbeer, who has coached in the WNBA since 2002. If Hammon were to accept the Aces job, Laimbeer would step aside and potentially fill a different organizational role, sources said.

For years now, former WNBA star Becky …

For years now, former WNBA star Becky Hammon has been top of mind when it comes to “who” should first take that role. She’s worked as assistant for Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs since 2014 and last year became the first woman to work as acting head coach. But all she ever gets in a head coaching search is “almost there.” Minnesota Lynx general manager/head coach Cheryl Reeve doesn’t see that changing soon, calling the exercise of naming a woman she believes should be an NBA coach a “waste of time” because “the men aren’t going to allow it.”

Reeve said it’s not the players who are …

Reeve said it’s not the players who are against women coaching, but the front offices that are largely controlled by men. “It’s really men’s sports,” Reeve said. “It’s the mentality of men’s sports that what they’re doing is so difficult that a woman could not do that. And that’s the only place that we’re not leading. And once we do, look out. ‘Cuz a lot of men aren’t going to be qualified anymore when we get some of these women in there. And it’s not the players by the way. It’s not the players, it’s the positions of leadership.”

Inept press conference shows Trail Blazers didn’t care what fans think about Chauncy Billups’ controversial hiring

This was not a good look for Billups or the Trail Blazers.

The Portland Trail Blazers held a press conference Tuesday afternoon to announce the hiring of new head coach Chauncey Billups. But instead, by failing to address even the most basic of questions, they showed no desire to take responsibility or be held accountable for making a decision that has alienated members of the fanbase and threatens to tear the team apart.

Hiring Billups was always going to be controversial, due to his past. But Trail Blazers leadership couldn’t even be bothered to come up with a real plan to address serious issues, opting instead to condescendingly demand trust from the media (and public) before literally refusing to take pertinent questions. It was a fiasco.

During the introductory press conference, both Billups and Trail Blazers general manager Neil Olshey were asked to speak about an incident in which a woman alleged that she was raped by Billups and one of his former teammates in 1997. Billups denied the accusations at the time and criminal charges were never filed. The civil lawsuit was settled out of court in 2000. But police reports stated that a rape kit examination of the victim indicated injuries consistent with sexual assault.

The resurfaced details are deeply troubling and have been met with serious criticism from fans. As such, the organization had a responsibility to explain the decision to hire someone with an accusation of such heinous gendered violence in their past to such a high-profile position as an ambassador and leader for the Trail Blazers.

Portland superstar guard Damian Lillard has also drawn his own share of disapproval for telling The Athletic that the two coaches he liked as potential replacements for Terry Stotts were Jason Kidd and Billups.

Kidd, officially hired as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, has his own checkered past as he pled guilty to spousal abuse following an arrest in 2001. Lillard, who was born in 1990, has since tweeted that he “wasn’t aware” of the history as he was very young when it happened.

The consequences of Portland’s decision could be especially dire as, according to a recent report from USA TODAY’s Jeff Zillgitt, the hire has left Lillard feeling frustrated and defensive and the Trail Blazers “could lose” Lillard amidst the backlash caused by the decision. Lillard reportedly feels he is taking the brunt of a decision “he played no part in consummating” for the organization, per Yahoo’s Chris Haynes.

The frustration is amplified when many fans consider that Becky Hammon, who became the first woman to be considered a finalist for an NBA head coaching position and who also has several years more experience as an assistant than Billups, was passed over for the position.

With all of this in mind, even before the presser began, tensions surrounding the state of the organization were high. The Trail Blazers were afforded a chance to clear the air a bit during Billups’ introductory press conference. They needed to speak about accountability, necessary on behalf of Billups’ personal development as well as their decision to bring him in the fold.

As expected, less than one minute into the introductory press conference on Tuesday, Olshey spoke about why the team made the controversial hire. He told reporters that the organization had conducted a thorough background check on Billups as well as an independent investigation into the 1997 incident, adding that the findings corroborated Billups’ recollection of the events.

Bleacher Report’s Sean Highkin later asked Olshey for more details on the investigation that concluded the incident was consensual. The question from Highkin was fair, simply seeking more clarity on the hiring process.

Olshey, however, said the information was “proprietary” and that everyone would just have to “take our word” that the organization worked with an experienced firm to reach the results.

The answer from Olshey was discouraging for many reasons. First and foremost, sexual assault allegations are incredibly severe. Despite how horrifically prevalent this type of violence is in our society, among athletes, it is all too often either underreported or ignored entirely.

The Trail Blazers had a chance to show that they did their due diligence in taking the matters seriously by simply providing as much information as possible on why they felt Billups was deserving of the job could have calmed some nerves. Instead, they asked reporters to just blindly trust without evidence.

Perhaps fans would be more willing to believe the Trail Blazers if they had learned the team commissioned “a former FBI investigator” and re-interviewed witnesses, as The Athletic has reported. Olshey’s decision to omit such key details, however, does nothing to alleviate any such concern and only raises more questions.

Billups, meanwhile, said in his introductory statement that what happened in 1997 has impacted “every decision” that he has made since and has also shaped him in “unbelievable ways.”

He spoke only in vague terms about decision-making and his own reputation without talking about the woman and how the incident may have impacted her.

Later in Tuesday’s presser, The Athletic’s Jason Quick asked Billups to elaborate more on how he was shaped by what happened. This should have been an even easier question to answer than the one Highkin asked.

Billups appeared ready to extrapolate, but before he even had a chance, a representative from the public relations department cut him off. Quick, who is a well-respected media member and has covered the team for more than two decades, was denied the follow-up.

In the words of Mike Richman, who hosts the podcast Locked on Blazers: “From my view on the video stream Billups was prepared to answer this question. Blazers PR cut it off and moved to the next question. Both the reporter and the subject were willing to have an exchange from my view. The team wasn’t.”

This left an uneasy feeling. If the Blazers organization was willing to hire him, why were they not willing to let him answer any and all questions about this troubling situation?

Billups, who won the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award as well as the NBA Sportsmanship Award and the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award during his tenure in the league, could have spoken about his own personal growth and redemption.

As noted by Eric Brandt, co-host of the YouTube channel Blazers Uprise, perhaps Billups could have spoken up and offered to answer the initial question that he was asked.

This decision, like the short answer about the investigation from Olshey, was telling. It was a clear lack of trust and transparency in a moment when the front office needed it most. How are fans of the team, some of whom are survivors of sexual violence, expected to feel other than unheard?

Billups and the Trail Blazers missed out on a chance to accept responsibility and accountability. When it comes to first impressions, this one was handled about as poorly by both Portland and Billups as it can get.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f5k5x3v4hcz7e10g image=https://ftw.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=1044948]

Billboard in Boston asks Celtics to hire Kara Lawson or Becky Hammon

Six Star Nutrition purchases billboard calling for Kara Lawson or Becky Hammon as the next Celtics head coach.

After Danny Ainge retired and Brad Stevens moved his way into the Celtics front office, the empty spot on the Celtics bench was sought to be the most wanted job in the league.

And the vouching for the next head coach of the Boston Celtics has already started.

Spotted near the Celtics practice facility by the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn, is a billboard purchased by Six Star Nutrition speaking to Brad Stevens, the new President of Basketball Operations, to hire Duke Blue Devils women’s head coach and former Celtics assistant Kara Lawson or San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon.

Stevens has started the process. Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Stevens has began receiving permission to interview assistants around the league, including Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups.

At the moment, it’s unsure if Lawson and Hammon are in the current plans to interview with Stevens and the Celtics.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

[mm-video type=video id=01f7y4sp3t1szw3vdj9n playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f7y4sp3t1szw3vdj9n/01f7y4sp3t1szw3vdj9n-30cfff3cdbc131e35f9c266aaed331bd.jpg]

The Spurs paid tribute to NCAA women’s basketball legends with pre-game jerseys

The Spurs showed love to more players than just Becky Hammon.

Before their game against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday evening, the San Antonio Spurs paid tribute to some of the best players who have ever stepped on the floor during the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

Especially after the pathetic weight room originally provided to the NCAA women’s teams and all of the other ways the NCAA has failed its women’s tournament, it was refreshing to see such support from such a respected NBA team.

Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray got things started with a hat tip to his assistant coach, Becky Hammon, who is a legend both on and off the floor.

Hammon, who has been an assistant for San Antonio since 2014, was once one of the best college basketball players in the nation. She ran point for the Colorado State Rams from 1995 until 1999, leading her mid-major squad to the Sweet Sixteen.

Spurs veteran DeMar DeRozan entered the arena wearing a Cheryl Miller jersey.

Miller, like DeRozan, played college basketball for the USC Trojans from 1982 until 1986. She won Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year during three consecutive seasons, securing national championships in 1986 and 1987 as well.

Her jersey number, No. 31, is retired by the University of Southern California.

Rudy Gay was rocking a jersey from Rebecca Lobo, who is celebrated as one of the most decorated athletes in the history of UCONN’s prestigious women’s basketball program.

Lobo helped lead the team to an undefeated record and a national title in 1995. It was only the second time that a women’s team ran the table for an entire season.

Of course, NBA veteran guard Patty Mills had to show some love to his wife, former Saint Mary’s wing Alyssa Levesque.

Mills, who is one of many Australian basketball players who have attended Saint Mary’s in California, met Alyssa when they were both in college in the late 2000s.

They were married in July 2019 and reportedly have a pretty cute pre-game coffee routine scheduled for whenever the Spurs play in San Antonio.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09p3bf720d8rg02 player_id=01evcfkb10bw5a3nky image=https://ftw.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[lawrence-related id=1009833]

[vertical-gallery id=817639]

Former teammate of Becky Hammon ready to see her as NBA head coach

SportsPulse: Former N.Y. Liberty teammate Coquese Washington says the time is now for Becky Hammon to get the call as a head coach in the NBA and that many other women should follow in her footsteps.

SportsPulse: Former N.Y. Liberty teammate Coquese Washington says the time is now for Becky Hammon to get the call as a head coach in the NBA and that many other women should follow in her footsteps.

Kyrie Irving weighs in on Becky Hammon making history with Spurs

Kyrie Irving has done quite a bit for women’s basketball and the WNBA, so he was glad to see what happened with Becky Hammon on Wednesday.

Becky Hammon made history with the Spurs on Wednesday when she became the first woman to ever serve as a head coach in an NBA game, taking over for Gregg Popovich after he was ejected in the first half of San Antonio’s 121-107 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Kyrie Irving was asked about Hammon’s historical opportunity while he spoke to the media over Zoom after practice Thursday. Brooklyn’s point guard has been a significant supporter of women’s basketball, most notable donating $1.5 million to WNBA players who did not want to participate in the league’s bubble.

“It’s a genderless society going on in 2020 and I respect it,” Irving said. There shouldn’t be any role that is deemed for a male or female. It should be open, and that should be the principle that we all live by.

“But there’s still a fight, and I am grateful to be a part of history, and [for] Becky to make history. And there’s more history to be made for women and their empowerment in the workplace, as well as their respect across the world — especially black native women aligned with that, but all queens in general. So, I am grateful to be a part of that.”

Irving also laughed while adding:

“I am glad that Pop got ejected and put Beck in the driver’s seat and got to see her do her thing, as well, ’cause I know she is well-respected amongst her peers and across the whole entire culture, sports and entertainment-wise.”

https://embed.sendtonews.com/oembed/?SC=8KbiUux9SZ-1090964-7498&autoplay=on&V=2&format=json

Becky Hammon calls being first woman to serve as acting NBA head coach ‘a substantial moment’

She says Pop gave her the nod in a very Pop-like way.

Becky Hammon has been making history in the NBA for years. She became the first full-time female assistant coach in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014 as well as the first female head coach in the NBA Summer League. Wednesday night, Hammon chipped away at more barriers when she became the first woman serving as head coach during an NBA game.

Hammon, who has been with the Spurs for seven years, assumed head coaching duties after Gregg Popovich was ejected in the second quarter of the Spurs eventual 121-107 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

“He officially pointed at me. That was it. … That was it,” Hammon said of getting the nod. “Said, ‘You got ’em,’ and that was it. Very Pop-like.”


After the game, Hammon spoke about the historic nature of the moment.

“Obviously, it’s a big deal. It’s a substantial moment. I’ve been a part of this organization, I got traded here in 2007, so I’ve been in San Antonio and part of the Spurs and sports organization with the Stars and everything for 13 years. So I have a lot of time invested, and they have a lot of time invested in me, in building me and getting me better.”

The basketball world congratulated Hammon on her barrier breaking night.