Sports analyst and WNBA fan Chris Williamson’s X post created quite an array of opinions when he pointed out that a league whose rosters are reportedly 64 percent Black, have no Black coaches.
“Crazy that the league has no Black women head coaches in the WNBA now,” Williamson, an Emmy-nominated sports voice noted.
Seattle Storm Doesn’t Renew Noelle Quinn’s Contract: WNBA Has 0 Black Women Coaches
Seattle Storm coach Noelle Quinn was the lone Black head coach in the WNBA, but her contract was not renewed for the 2026 season and that went into effect immediately after the team’s disappointing first-round playoff loss on September 18, 2025.
Quinn, who became head coach in 2021, is leaving the organization after leading them to four postseason appearances. Inconsistent performances and a first-round playoff exit in 2025 led to her demise.
WNBA Has Four Head Coach Openings, Plenty Of Black Women Candidates
Storm and Liberty have become two of four WNBA teams in search of a new head coach ahead of next season (the league’s two expansion teams, the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, are also in the mix). There are plenty of Black candidates for the four openings. And while most people may not want to hear it, the lack of head coaching representation for Black women is similar to what we have seen in the NFL over the years.
Briann January played in the WNBA for 14 years and has been a WNBA assistant for the last three seasons, first with the Connecticut Sun and now with the Indiana Fever.
Tanisha Wright played in the WNBA for 14 years, was an assistant on the Las Vegas Aces before serving as the head coach of the Atlanta Dream for three seasons. This year, she served as an assistant for the Chicago Sky.
Former Chicago Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon should have never been fired. She established a great rapport with franchise player Angel Reese, fueling her record-breaking rookie season and leading the Sky to the brink of making the playoffs before late-season injuries to Reese and others stunted their momentum.
She previously coached Louisiana Tech, and served as an assistant coach in the NBA for the New Orleans Pelicans for three years.Weatherspoon is probably the most game-ready of any coaching candidate. In addition to being a legend, she knows the game and creates a culture of defensive intensity that any expansion club needs. Returning to the New York Liberty, who just fired head coach Sandy Brondello, would be the ideal situation for T-Spoon.
WNBA Has 64 Percent Black Players, Zero Black Women As Head Coaches: Chris Williamson Ruffles Feathers With A Factual Post
Imagine a world where there are more women coaches than men in a men’s league. With all of the advancements the WNBA has made over the years, and all of the women coaches spread over every level of hoops from grassroots to the pros, it is odd that the No. 1 women’s league in the world has no Black women coaching it.
Some fans immediately struck back at Williamson, condemning his post as race-baiting.
“Crazy how you chose to focus on identity politics instead of who’s best suited for the job. Got four spots opened for coaches. My guess is at least one of those will go to a…. black woman,” said one fan, suggesting that the WNBA owners simply try to pick the best candidates regardless of color.
“Only black people complain daily about their color in every issue,” said another rude fan.
“Can’t say the coaching hires are DEI though,” said on sarcastic netizen.
Other fans tried to answer Williamson’s post by the numbers.
“Well seeing how black ppl are only 16% of the population. Out of 100 coaches only 1.6 should be black. So that’s about right,” one netizen posted.
“Why is that crazy? There’s 13 coaches. That’s a very small pool. Who cares what color they are as long as they’re competent and effective at their job,” quipped one dismissive WNBA fan.
Fans Say WNBA’s Lack Of Black Women Coaches Is Business As Usual
A contingent of fans were willing to say what Williamson’s post implied.
“It’s obvious what’s going on… Black women is being kicked out… I hope the players and player union speak up…,” a woman commented on X.
“They never wanted black women to be head coaches or GMs they only want to use them as players,” griped another fan.
Williamson’s post opened up a sore subject that the league would rather avoid. However, it shouldn’t be the case even by coincidence. The league continues to turn a blind eye to some serious image problems, and for a league that prides itself on diversity, to have Black women as players on the court, but none as leaders or communicators as a top dog doesn’t make sense. And it is “crazy” even if it isn’t intentional. The WNBA has to be more aware of its total product. As the league expands, explodes and demands money, power and respect (which according to Lil Kim and The Lox is the key to life), it also has to be brand conscious with the message it is sending with the cultural representation of the league’s 13 (soon to be 15) head coaches.
They have to do better. This shouldn’t be an issue at this point.
