Opinion: Women cracking gender ceilings in sports
Former pro Lindsay Davenport is coaching Madison Keys. Photo/Kathryn Reed
By Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle
The news has come in waves this summer. Becky Hammon, the lone female assistant in the NBA, coached the Spurs to an NBA Summer League title.
A few weeks later, Nancy Lieberman was hired by the Sacramento Kings to be an assistant coach under George Karl.
Jen Welter was hired as an assistant linebackers coaching intern for the Arizona Cardinals.
Sarah Thomas is preparing for the NFL season as the first full-time female official in the league.
Beth Mowins was hired to do play-by-play on Raiders preseason games.
Add in the overwhelming success of the U.S. women’s national soccer team — with record-setting television ratings and coached by Jill Ellis, the first woman to take the Americans to a world title — the dominance of Serena Williams and UFC fighter Ronda Rousey and it’s been a landmark summer for women in sports.