Toronto Raptors: A model NBA franchise in racial equality

Female hirings

Female hirings in the NBA are not exactly racial inequality, but it is adjacent, and discrimination is discrimination. It’s long been a problem in sports with female reporters not wanted around locker rooms or treated in derogatory ways because they are women.

Admittedly, this is one area that the NBA is not necessarily doing poorly with, but improvements could be made. For example, the first female referees, Violet Palmer and Dee Kanter, were hired in 1997. This past season there were four female referees in the NBA out of a union made up of 70 members.

At the coaching ranks, 11 women are holding down assistant coaching roles in the NBA. Just over six years ago, the San Antonio Spurs hired the first female assistant coach who was Becky Hammond.

With no disrespect of the talents and basketball IQ that were and are the great Steve Nash, it is a plausible question to ponder how or why he was more qualified for the New Jersey head-coaching spot than Becky Hammond or even a Marc Jackson.

Ultimately, the Toronto Raptors under Masai Ujiri’s leadership have made hiring women in prominent roles in the organization. Ujiri hired this past summer Shelby Weaver (manager of player development),   Brittni Donaldson (data analyst), Amanda Joaquim (physiotherapist), and  Jennifer Quinn (director of communications).

According to Masai Ujiri:

They were not hired because we wanted to hire women; they were hired because they’re the best at what they do. And by the way, if anyone wants to question it, we won a championship.”

Whether it’s hiring quality players, developing talent, and allowing qualified people to flourish, the Toronto Raptors do things the right way. The rest of the league needs to study the Toronto Raptors and learn that a classy organization can be diverse and progressive but successful all the same.