Photo Credit: The Associated Press
The sports world lost a legend today with the passing of former Tennessee women’s basketball head coach Pat Summitt. Summit had been battling Alzheimer’s disease and her family announced that her health was declining over the weekend. After learning about her diagnosis, she vowed to fight saying in a 2013 statement, “Competition got me off the farm and trained me to seek out challenges and to endure setbacks; and in combination with my faith, it sustains me now in my fight with Alzheimer’s disease.” Up until the end, she was a warrior who fought hard against the disease.
Coach Summitt fought and proved that women have a place in sports. Arguably one of the greatest coaches in college history, winning over 1,000 games and eight NCAA championships during he time with the Lady Vols. She was more than that, however, she was a pioneer for women in sports. Being a female coach in the 1970s and barely making enough money she endured plenty of criticism and hardships including washing the players’ uniforms herself. It was not until the 1980s that the NCAA women’s tournament was created, signaling the first time women’s sports were being taken seriously. During the 1986-87 season, Summitt led her to team to their first national title.
When speaking about Coach Summitt, many speak about her close relationships with all of the women she coached. Former Vols quarterback Peyton Manning praised Summitt’s commitment to all of her players and wished he could have played for her. “She could have coached any team, any sport, men’s or women’s. It wouldn’t have mattered because Pat could flat out coach,” he said in a statement on the Broncos’ website.
Summitt was loyal to her players. She was offered the men’s basketball head coaching job at Tennessee, but turned it down on multiple occasions. She did not understand how that was considered a “step-up” in the coaching world. Despite her passing, her work for gender equality in the sports world can never be forgotten. I credit Coach Summitt with allowing this site to exist and be taken seriously. For that, I say thank you Coach, your legacy will live on.
