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Women’s basketball has always been political, but sometimes it’s political in ways that fans don’t expect. That was the case on Saturday, when South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley issued an urgent plea for the safety of some of her former players.
“Please pray for our @GamecockWBB @TiffMitch25 @2121Mikah @dstnyltttltn24 who are in a war zone in Israel!! We are working a plan to get home. Let us pray for our loved ones to return home safely asap! Thank you in advance,” Staley wrote on X.
The three players in question — Tiffany Mitchell, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, and Destiney Littleton — previousy played for the Gamecocks and are all currently playing overseas basketball in Israel. The three women were presumably in the country when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and American President Donald Trump launched a military operation against Iran. The country has retaliated, and Israelis have been under fire throughout the day.
Staley didn’t specify which team(s) the women play for, but it’s clear that they are each living out their dreams playing professional basketball the same way a lot of women and men do: by traveling the world. There are several professional teams in Israel. And though there are plenty of men’s basketball players who end up playing overseas, more often than not women who go overseas to pursue professional basketball do so because there have historically not been enough spots in the WNBA for them, and/or because they can make so much more money doing so.
This underscores a lot of the discourse surroudning the WNBA right now. One reason the members of the WNBPA are fighting so hard for a deal they feel comfortable with is to make sure that the players in the WNBA are adequately compensated, which would in turn mean they don’t have to travel overseas to play basketball unless they want to. While some players may choose to do so, many have expressed gratitude for leagues like Unrivaled and Athletes Unlimited, which allowed players to continue to play in the U.S. during the WNBA offseason.
As for Staley, this is also an example of why her players continue to sing her praises, both as a coach and as a person. It’s clear that these players are important to her, and she continued to share updates as they rolled in. It’s unclear what the dynamic in Israel will be for the coming days, or possibly even weeks.
