Dawn Staley balances her focus on basketball with her need to speak out on social justice and gender inequity

Dawn Staley checked off another milestone Sunday with her 500th coaching win. She and South Carolina women’s basketball team are headed to the Sweet 16 in pursuit of their second national championship.

That’s the good part of history.

Another part of history pains her. The kind of history that is deeply rooted in a system where evolution and growth haven’t been recognized. It’s why when you refresh her Twitter feed, you will not only see her talking about Gamecocks basketball, but gender inequity and social injustice.

“We’re at the NCAA Tournament and we see stark differences of what the men’s tournament looks like,” Staley said. “If you see that, you need to speak out.”

It’s a challenge, being a Black woman leading a program thirsty for another title after its first taste in 2017. But somehow, Staley balances it well.

One thing she does is keep the locker room focused. Staley isn’t talking to her players about her fight for them off the court. She wants their goal to be cutting down the nets after the championship game.

The next step comes Saturday when the Gamecocks, the No. 1 seed in their region, face No. 5 seed Georgia Tech at the Alamodome in San Antonio for a berth in the Elite Eight.

“We play sports, we are the best at compartmentalizing our lives,” Staley said. “I have to take that part off of their plate.”

But make no mistake, the players see her messages, too. It’s a fight they’re in together, especially when some of their own fans booed players who did not stand for the national anthem before their season opener.

“It gives me a lot of confidence because it allows me to see that no matter who you are, you can just talk about how you feel and what you think should be done,” Gamecocks forward Aliyah Boston said of Staley’s activism. “You don’t have to shy away from anything because you are G.O.A.T.ed.”

» READ MORE: The NCAA women’s tournament landed in the spotlight for inequity | Mike Jensen

Staley had one of the strongest responses to the NCAA’s problem with providing women equal opportunities at the tournament, noting the difference in the amenities between the genders. She started off by saying, “I cannot be quiet.”

Those four words shouldn’t be taken for granted from a coach who was two days away from an NCAA Tournament game. It spoke to how glaring the issues are that she took the time to type a 457-word essay during a championship quest.

The first issue Staley addressed was the official NCAA March Madness Twitter account, where she called out the NCAA for specifically highlighting men’s basketball in its Twitter bio. Unlike the logos on the men’s courts during the tournament, the women’s courts make no mention of March Madness.

“It’s like having kids,” Staley said. “If you treat one kid one way and treat your other kid another way, they’re going to feel it and they’re not going to make for a happy household.”

» READ MORE: Drexel women battle but Georgia pulls away late to win in first round of NCAA Tournament

This all springs from Staley’s upbringing and her Philly roots. Her ability to speak out is a credit to her toughness, a quality she developed growing up in the Raymond Rosen housing projects in North Philly.

Her passion for creating opportunities in women’s basketball can be traced back to when she’d be the only girl on the court in Philly and would bring a basketball to make sure she got a chance to play.

Those Philly roots not only blossom when Staley makes history with wins, but after each time she chooses not to stay quiet.