South Carolina’s Dawn Staley wins Jimmy V Award at ESPYS. ‘I have a job to do’

Dawn Staley waltzed toward the ESPYS stage Thursday night clad in chic black Louis Vitton and homemade beaded necklaces.

As she made her way down the aisle, icons of the sports world and other celebrities rose to give her a standing ovation. She was there to accept the prestigious Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, becoming the first individual woman to win the award since Kay Yow in 2007. After cracking a joke about having to wear readers to see the teleprompter and expressing her gratitude, she quickly confessed to suffering from impostor syndrome.

“Past recipients of the Jimmy V Perseverance Award have faced incredible challenges and proven themselves as true warriors,” Staley said in her acceptance speech. “I have merely been a spectator to such immense courage and resilience.”

But it was clear to everyone in the room and those watching Staley on TV why she was being honored Thursday night. Her own personal triumph as a girl from the projects of Philadelphia turned one of the game’s greatest basketball coaches. Her lifelong mission to elevate women’s sports. And her efforts to fight against cancer.

“It’s the fight for me,” Staley said. “The unwillingness to give up or to quit. I think that’s why I stand here today.”

Staley’s sister Tracy Underwood was diagnosed with leukemia in 2020, while friend and former assistant coach Nikki McCray-Penson died in 2023 after a 10-year battle with breast cancer. Last week marked the one-year anniversary of her death.

The beaded necklaces Staley wore — which she did throughout the 2023-24 women’s basketball season — were made by a young girl named Blakely currently fighting cancer.

Last year Staley organized a preseason exhibition game between South Carolina and Rutgers — where McCray-Penson also served as an assistant coach — to raise money for local women fighting breast cancer and their families. She has also worked to encourage potential donors — with a focus on those in the Black community — to sign up on a bone-marrow registry, Be The Match.

A voice for women’s basketball, and more

In addition to having led South Carolina to three national championships in 16 years, Staley is one of the world’s go-to authorities on all-things women’s basketball. Whenever discussions of equality, media rights deals and growing the game arise, she’s often looked to as the most qualified to speak. And her trailblazing efforts as both a player and coach have helped the sports’ booming popularity.

While at the University of Virginia, Staley won two Naismith Player of the Year awards and was named the Most Outstanding Player in the 1991 NCAA Final Four. She then went on to pioneer women’s professional basketball in the United States, starring in both the ABL and WNBA. Staley also won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA. She was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2013.

Since then, Staley has led South Carolina to three national championships and Team USA to gold in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The 2024 NCAA title capped off the sport’s first perfect season since 2013 and occurred after losing all five 2023 starters to graduation and the WNBA Draft. Staley was named unanimous Coach of the Year for the effort.

During her acceptance speech, Staley took a moment to recognize her players, who were nominated for the ESPYs Best Team award. She cited them, fighters like Underwood, McCray-Penson, Blakely and girls everywhere as her motivation for demanding more.

More for women, cancer patients and herself.

“How do I not fight injustice when I ask them to do things the right way?” Staley said. “How do I not fight for fairness when I ask them not to cheat themselves, not to cut corners. How do I not fight for equity when I tell them they can climb as high as they want, they can be all that they want? How do I not fight pay disparities when I do the same job, and get paid less, but win more?”

She paused as the crowd reacted with resounding applause.

“They’re watching me,” Staley continued. “I can’t ask them to stand up for themselves if I’m sitting down. Nor can I ask them to use their voice to affect change if I’m only willing to whisper. So when someone tells me to shut up and coach, I simply say, ‘No, I have a job to do.’”