A few thoughts in my own opinion...

[Lawrence]

I'm thrilled that Sabrina has chosen to stay in college next year. I'm exited about Paige (hopefully more to come). I'm very disappointed with Muffett's statements, I'm not sure what her point(s) is...The Best qualified individual for the job should be hired as a coach. I don't agree with her and it really P.M.O. that she would say those things.

 

[Robin]

I'm thrilled that Sabrina has chosen to stay in college next year. I'm exited about Paige (hopefully more to come). I'm very disappointed with Muffett's statements, I'm not sure what her point(s) is...The Best qualified individual for the job should be hired as a coach. I don't agree with her and it really P.M.O. that she would say those things.

Women should be upset that less than 50% of the coaching positions in WBB are women but 99% of the jobs in MBB are men. If you can't see her point and just want to focus on the fact she said she doesn't plan to hire any male assistants then you missed the point. She almost 100% hires former players anyway. Even Geno, who only said it to take a dig at Muffet, said he didn't plan to hire a male assistant, either, but he didn't feel he needed to announce it. But he did announce it with that statement. Nobody says he's being sexist.

 

[UConnCat]

Women should be upset that less than 50% of the coaching positions in WBB are women but 99% of the jobs in MBB are men. If you can't see her point and just want to focus on the fact she said she doesn't plan to hire any male assistants then you missed the point. She almost 100% hires former players anyway. Even Geno, who only said it to take a dig at Muffet, said he didn't plan to hire a male assistant, either, but he didn't feel he needed to announce it. But he did announce it with that statement. Nobody says he's being sexist.

I doubt Geno only said it to take a dig at Muffet. He was asked to comment on her declaration that she would no longer hire any male assistants. He rightly pointed out that he has never hired a male assistant, a fact that Stanford coach Tara Vandeveer has praised Geno for in the past. Tara also won’t hire any male assistants and that has always been the case. There may be others. Muffet isn’t the first but may be the first to make an announcement about it.

Do we know what Muffet’s plan is to change the hiring practices in women’s basketball beyond her own staff?

 

[uconnell]

I got the point. Why is she railing at Geno who has all women assistant coaches. Geno gets plenty of flak from male fsns who say he should coach men teams. Like real men should coach male teams. The way of the world today. Muffin is beating the wrong bush.

 

[UConnNick]

I got the point. Why is she railing at Geno who has all women assistant coaches. Geno gets plenty of flak from male fsns who say he should coach men teams. Like real men should coach male teams. The way of the world today. Muffin is beating the wrong bush.

It all boils down to petty jealousy and envy among a certain segment of the female coaches in the game. Some of them just can't wrap their heads around the fact that a male coach is the greatest in the history of the women's game. Perhaps there's some justification for that feeling, since many men are coaching in the women's game, but seeing everything in terms of male vs. female is silly.

Coaches should do what's best for their own program, whether that means hiring a male or female coach. What if there's a particular male coach that applies for a coaching job who is clearly superior to any female coach that applies? Are you going to ignore that particular coach in favor of a less qualified female coach? Is that arbitrary decision in the best interests of your program? Advertising in advance that you'll only hire females may eliminate eminently qualified male coaches who might have been encouraged to apply if you were open to hiring anybody. I'd say I'm going to hire the best coach for the job, and I don't give a rat's ass if it's a man or a woman. I'm hiring the best choice, period.

 

[VaConnFan11]

I don't understand how coaches can get away with saying they will not hire men, because gender is a protected class.

 

[RogueDave]

A couple thoughts come too mind...

MM makes statements of observations of inequalities for impact but offers no vision forward, how to get there, why the disparity exists in the 1st place...Here is an observation why don’t more women attend and support women in sports?

Why aren’t UConn female Coeds filling the student sections?

Her Parroting media talking points is vapid of critical thought.

I fully agree Women coaches should be coaching in Men’s Sports...If they are best qualified...If not best qualified then Men coaches and AD’s regardless of gender should step up and mentor...get them to be most qualified...

Gender does play a role and gives coaches unique insights...

Female coach in a male sport may be better connected to the players with strong bonds to Mom...Naturally accustomed to having a strong female advocating for excellence from them...May have better effect than Male coach challenging, picking them apart constantly...

Men in women’s sports remember Diana was never going to play for a Women in college...She wanted a man that would respect her and challenge her like no other...treat her like a player first, somebody she felt who would bring out her best...

It is right to point out the inequities in coaching and hiring...It is wrong to use the platform as a bashing session...

Real women leaders like Rebecca Lobo will set the record straight...and she will continue to advocate for individuals based on merit...and for young girls and women to continue to compete and participate for more opportunities based on excellence

 

[Plebe]

I've been wondering about this too. I may try to do a little research and get back. It's possible when it comes to Title IX and sports that gender considerations work differently and trump Title VII's general employment rules.

People have to quit taking this person's statements at face value. She's only saying these things to bash Geno. In one interview she's calling him a "bully" and in the next she's saying that the very fact that men are allowed to coach women constitutes an act of gender oppression.

Wake up people. She's no Susan B. Anthony. She's just a highly paid troll.

 

[TheFarmFan]

She's just a highly paid troll.

Well, whatever you think about her statements, they're public statements by an employer about a hiring practice that would ordinarily violate Title VII. There aren't trolling exceptions to Title VII. So it's a reasonable question to ask. And the same is true for Geno, and Tara, and any others who have said they don't plan to hire male assistants. Which makes me think there's some exception in Title IX, because whatever you think about MM, Tara doesn't have a troll bone in her body, and she's way too careful and commit to doing something unlawful. And while Geno has a tendency towards sarcasm, I don't think he'd say that if he didn't think it was lawful for him to do so.

ETA: The other possibility is that it's been accepted that gender consideration is a bona fide occupational qualification when it comes to women's coaching. Perhaps female former players can be established as having a occupational qualification than no male could match. I don't know. But I am curious.

ETA x2: From the Dep't of Ed:
"Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects people from discrimination on the basis of sex in employment and employment practices in education programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance.

Sex as a Bona-fide Occupational Qualification

Recipients may engage in action otherwise prohibited by Title IX if sex is shown to be a bona-fide occupational qualification for a job. For example, recipients may consider an applicant's sex when hiring for a position in a locker room or toilet facility used only by one sex.

So it's possible the BFOQ exception applies here, especially to the degree the assistant coaches are in the locker rooms. I know that issue has been a problem with female reporters trying to cover professional sports, since much of the post-game reporting takes place in locker rooms.

 

[UConnCat]

Well, whatever you think about her statements, they're public statements by an employer about a hiring practice that would ordinarily violate Title VII. There aren't trolling exceptions to Title VII. So it's a reasonable question to ask. And the same is true for Geno, and Tara, and any others who have said they don't plan to hire male assistants. Which makes me think there's some exception in Title IX, because whatever you think about MM, Tara doesn't have a troll bone in her body, and she's way too careful and commit to doing something unlawful. And while Geno has a tendency towards sarcasm, I don't think he'd say that if he didn't think it was lawful for him to do so.

Just to be clear, I don’t recall Geno ever saying he will not hire a male assistant coach. He has pointed out that he has never done so.

 

[Plebe]

Well, whatever you think about her statements, they're public statements by an employer about a hiring practice that would ordinarily violate Title VII. There aren't trolling exceptions to Title VII. So it's a reasonable question to ask. And the same is true for Geno, and Tara, and any others who have said they don't plan to hire male assistants. Which makes me think there's some exception in Title IX, because whatever you think about MM, Tara doesn't have a troll bone in her body, and she's way too careful and commit to doing something unlawful. And while Geno has a tendency towards sarcasm, I don't think he'd say that if he didn't think it was lawful for him to do so.

ETA: The other possibility is that it's been accepted that gender consideration is a bona fide occupational qualification when it comes to women's coaching. Perhaps female former players can be established as having a occupational qualification than no male could match. I don't know. But I am curious.

First of all, she can make the most blatantly discriminatory statements ever known to humankind, and the only way it might possibly become an issue is if she is sued over actual hiring practices. The likelihood of some aspiring male assistant coach suing a female head coach for job discrimination is so tiny that it barely exists, and even if such a lawsuit were to materialize, she has the full backing of one of the most well-heeled and intensely lawyered-up institutions in the country.

 

[TheFarmFan]

First of all, she can make the most blatantly discriminatory statements ever known to humankind, and the only way it might possibly become an issue is if she is sued over actual hiring practices. The likelihood of some aspiring male assistant coach suing a female head coach for job discrimination is so tiny that it barely exists, and even if such a lawsuit were to materialize, she has the full backing of one of the most well-heeled and intensely lawyered-up institutions in the country.

In today's climate, I would not be at all surprised to see such a lawsuit, just to make a point. She's all but admitted the discriminatory practice - imagine the headlines and the bad PR for Notre Dame if it had to defend it. Moreover, these kinds of statements can be used as evidence that the employer in general is looking the other way to known gender discrimination by its managers, and that there's a pattern and practice of known discriminatory hiring, so if I were Notre Dame, I'd be really, really unhappy about her statements unless they're justifiable under the law, because they could hurt it its legal position in other, unrelated potential suits.

Also: if there isn't an exception, the Dep't of Ed could bring an investigation for the university knowingly violating Title IX. In the Devos Dep't of Ed, anything's possible. And that doesn't take a male assistant coach suing. So I suspect MM knows she's on safe legal ground here, or she's really careless.

 

[Yorkeez4]

The way I see it MM was working a platform that comes around once a year in late March/early April. She took the opportunity to talk about gender issues and had numerous reasons for it:
1. To attempt to make Geno look bad
2. To get under Geno’s skin - as he often does hers
3. To bait the refs - fortunately it had no effect.
4. Possibly to have recruits see her as a spokesperson for gender issues.

An aside - I thought the reffing in the game was the best I have seen in women’s basketball this year.

 

[HuskyNan]

Women should be upset that less than 50% of the coaching positions in WBB are women but 99% of the jobs in MBB are men. If you can't see her point and just want to focus on the fact she said she doesn't plan to hire any male assistants then you missed the point. She almost 100% hires former players anyway. Even Geno, who only said it to take a dig at Muffet, said he didn't plan to hire a male assistant, either, but he didn't feel he needed to announce it. But he did announce it with that statement. Nobody says he's being sexist.

I’m a woman and I’m not upset. Women don’t have a right to expect special preferences and to suggest we do implies we’re unable to prove we deserve positions of authority like head coach’s or assistant’ jobs. If a woman is good enough to be a coach, she should be hired. If an applicant’s main qualification for a coaching position is her gender, then she shouldn’t get the job. That pure paternalism than benefits neither the coach nor her players. And it tells the players they aren’t worthy of the best coach available.