Becky Hammon and the Left’s Unequal Equality

The San Antonio Spurs have just hired Becky Hammon as the first full-time female coach in National Basketball Association history. I could not think of a better organization to break this barrier. It’s easy to call the Spurs a “model organization,” but in fact they defy almost every convention and attitude in professional basketball. In a league driven by superstars with diva tendencies, the Spurs simply play basketball. Tim Duncan, despite being one of the best players in history, is quiet and unassuming. Another star, Kawhi Leonard, asked his mom to move into his house so that he could avoid distractions. These are not your typical NBA stars. All of this is pertinent because it indicates that this hiring was not about the gender of Miss Hammon. The Spurs are not seeking publicity or kudos from the media. Indeed, as the New York Times writes, Coach Popovich’s statement “never mentioned that Hammon was a woman.” When discussing the position with her, he said that “as cool as it would be to hire you, you’d have to be qualified and I’d have to make sure you’re qualified.” In an interview, he said that “she knows when to talk and she knows when to shut up.” While this statement is actually a compliment for an assistant coach, it demonstrates an obvious lack of concern for political correctness. The Spurs did a great thing. Simple as that. No fanfare, no gender politics.  This is how such things should be.

But this is not how the Left would have it. The primary issue, I think, is that for the Left, everything is political. Examples abound. Instead of celebrating the ascension of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, liberals declared him an Uncle Tom. Robert Griffin III, the quarterback of the Washington (how dare I) Redskins, is considered “not black enough” (to use the exact phrase, a “cornball brother”) because he holds conservative views. I can’t imagine how the Left would have reacted if our first African-American president had been a Republican.

My point here is that far too often, the Left’s championing of equality is for instrumental, rather than principled, reasons. Race and gender equality is great, so long as the relevant individuals subscribe to the right political ideologies and the event narrative follows the right trajectory (worth noting here, Coach Popovich donated to the Obama campaign). Of course, this is not to say that liberals do not support race and gender equality. The problem lies in their conception of it.

Instead of turning every event into a platform for preaching identity politics, let’s just acknowledge that the Spurs did this the right way and wish Becky Hammon the best in the upcoming basketball season.