Breakthrough

       Recently, the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs hired a new assistant coach. The crazy thing about this is not race, or height, or even previous scandals or a criminal record. No, it is much bigger than that. Becky Hammon, the new assistant coach, is a woman. There has been no bigger news story in sports about genders in a long, long time. In fact, the last time there was news this big about women entering a male dominated field was when Robin Roberts became the most prominent sports journalist and reporter for ESPN. But that happened in the 70's. Why is it such a big deal now? There are still millions of people in our country who believe women are the "lesser gender". There are stereotypes as to women being better cleaners and cookers, and how they belong "in the kitchen". With the new hiring of Becky Hammon, views of women, in sports and in general, may change. Becky Hammon played 16 seasons in the WNBA, and is 5th all time in assists. Sure, she's a great athlete. Men can respect that. But when she transitioned over to the NBA, people lost their cool. Millions of people said the NBA is meant to be strictly for men. But the NBA is strictly for male PLAYERS. There are no guidelines, regulations, or rules stating a woman cannot be a coach, or an active part of the teams success. If Becky Hammon can prove that she is a legitimate coach in the NBA, she will win over the heart of all fans, not just women. One could argue that the fate of gender equality in the world of sports depends largely on her success. She's worried about the Spurs, but in reality, it's much bigger than that.