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Now that she’s a coach, Staley’s job is all about passing her sense of purpose on to the next generation of women in basketball. “Coach Staley is like my second mom. She has paved the way for me to be the woman that I am,” says Wilson. “She’s given so much to this game; she has cracked that glass ceiling for young girls like me to now shatter it.”
That, says Diggins-Smith, is exactly what U.S. women’s basketball is all about. Yes, it’s about great hoops, but it’s also about “collectively making the game better. Introducing fans to us as women telling stories and ultimately inspiring the next generation,” she says. “I think that’s what we’re accomplishing.”
Team USA’s record speaks for itself—for two and a half decades, the team has stayed on top. That alone would be enough to call theirs the greatest dynasty in sports. But the women of Team USA Basketball also bring a deeper level of activism and authenticity to their game. “Women’s sports aren’t just about sports,” as Staley puts it.
“Our team is literally a walking social issue. Because we really represent all of it: We have gay players, we have Black players—obviously we’re women,” says Sue Bird, the five-time Olympian and legendary point guard leading the team. “It’s time to put that in people’s faces so it can have a positive effect.”
But still, it’s a fight to get respect—and to get paid. “I think where women’s sports are right now, it feels like a moment,” says Bird. The challenge she and fiancée Megan Rapinoe talk about all the time, is getting that moment to stick. “Every four years, people can show up for women, but they can’t do it consistently. I think something that the Olympic platform gives us is a chance to showcase our talents, but also a chance to question people on that. Why don’t we get the media coverage? What’s that all about?”
And let’s be honest: If this team of game-crushing, outspoken role models were men, they’d be the highest paid athletes on the planet.
“If you love basketball, you can’t tell me you can’t look at a women’s basketball game, collegiate or professional, and not see something great about it,” says Staley. “We’re athletic, we can dunk, we can dribble the basketball, we’ve got great court vision, we’ve got shooters, we’ve got great decision makers. We’ve got everything that you find in the men’s game.”
In the run-up to the olympics, the women did score a major victory in pay equity. The historic collective bargaining agreement they secured for the 2020 season is being held up as a model for other leagues. “When we talk about equal pay, it’s really about being invested in,” says Bird. “It’s very difficult to have to speak to your own value. This was an experience where we really had to be like, ‘Nope, this is our value, and we’re not budging from that.’”
When the players arrived in Tokyo, it was after a season where (even despite the pandemic) they’d been invested in in tangible ways. The new CBA gives the players a significant pay bump (though there’s still a long way to go), better travel accommodations, and a structure to share marketing revenues. It also made significant strides in supporting family planning and maternity leave. “Who better to pioneer this than a league full of women?” asks Bird. “This is a big thought process for any woman who is in any career: How do I have a family and have a career? That shouldn’t be the balancing act. It should just be support.”
For now there’s a gold medal—and the platform that comes with it—to win. “We will be tested, no doubt about it,” Staley says. “But it’s those moments that have made us the best in the world for six Olympic games.”
Macaela Mackenzie is a senior editor at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
