BREAKING NEWD: In an unexpected revelation, legendary basketball coach Dawn Staley shared a deeply personal story about her encounter with music and fashion icon Pharrell Williams at the prestigious Vogue World event in Paris, held at the iconic Place Vendôme.

“When I first met Pharrell at Vogue World, I thought it wasn’t something deep. I didn’t see it coming,” Staley said in an emotional statement. “He proposed… and I don’t think I can continue with my coaching career. Family has to….read full details 👇

In an unexpected revelation, legendary basketball coach Dawn Staley shared a deeply personal story about her encounter with music and fashion icon Pharrell Williams at the prestigious Vogue World event in Paris, held at the iconic Place Vendôme.

“When I first met Pharrell at Vogue World, I thought it wasn’t something deep. I didn’t see it coming,” Staley said in an emotional statement. “He proposed… and I don’t think I can continue with my coaching career. Family has to come first.”

Staley, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and multiple-time WNBA champion, is widely recognized not just for her achievements on the court, but also for her transformative leadership as the head coach of the University of South Carolina women’s basketball program. Her potential decision to step away from coaching would mark a seismic shift in the sports world.

The proposal reportedly took place amid the glamour and high fashion of Paris, highlighting the unexpected intersection of sports, music, and fashion in Staley’s life. While details of her future plans remain unclear, the basketball community has already begun expressing support and admiration for Staley’s choice to prioritize personal happiness and family.

Fans and colleagues alike are eagerly awaiting further updates, as one of the most influential figures in women’s basketball navigates this new chapter of her life.

Dawn Staley Breaks Silence on Maddy McDaniel’s Suspension for Clemson Game

South Carolina guard Maddy McDaniel was a surprise absence on Tuesday night after the program announced, just an hour before tipoff, that she had been suspended and would miss the matchup against Clemson. Coach Dawn Staley briefly addressed the situation after the Gamecocks’ 65-37 win, offering little detail on the decision.

Dawn Staley Addresses Maddy McDaniel’s Suspension

The news of McDaniel’s suspension, especially in the 11th hour before a game, was surprising, to say the least. Naturally, it was one of the earliest questions that Staley fielded at the postgame press conference.

When asked if McDaniel will be back for the next game against USC, Staley said she doubts it. When asked if the Sophomore will be back this season, Staley said, “That’s on her. We’ll evaluate it every day.”

She refused to reveal the reason behind her suspension or further elaborate on the nature or extent of the punishment.

The 5’9″ player was injured in South Carolina’s season opener against Grand Canyon. She went down in what looked like a hard collision and had to be helped out of the court to the locker room. After securing a dominant 94-54 victory over her former assistant Winston Gandy’s team, spearheaded by the guard trio of Tessa Johnson, Ta’Niya Latson, and Raven Johnson, Staley addressed McDaniel’s injury in the postgame conversation with the media.

The coach said she was “not too worried” about the injury, which was merely a knee-on-knee contact. She was seen wearing a brace on the sideline for the Nov. 7 game against Bowling Green, but was clearly not fit enough to play.

The situation with McDaniel shrinks Staley’s already shortened roster even more. With Chloe Kitts out for the whole season due to her ACL injury and Ashlyn Watkins taking the year off, Staley was already down to 10 players. If McDaniel is suspended indefinitely, that will bring her roster down to nine, considering there are no further injuries or foul penalties.

Of the three wins this season, their 28-point victory over Clemson was the smallest margin so far. But Staley believes a hard-earned win is not necessarily a bad thing at this point.

“As much as I can get mad at what’s happening out there on the floor, when you really look at it, we’re just a really young basketball team–inexperienced, having to play together. So, we gotta go through some things… it challenged us to be more disciplined. If we didn’t, we lose the basketball game.”

The Gamecocks face Lindsay Gottlieb’s USC Trojans next, who are also down their biggest star, JuJu Watkins, due to injury.