Development Zone®

   

PCA Resource Center

Spurs Hired Becky Hammon Because Of Coaching Quality, Not Gender

Share This Resource

R.C. Buford is a PCA National Advisory Board Member and is the President of sports franchises for Spurs Sports and Entertainment. In this current position, Buford serves as the GM of the Spurs (@spurs) while overseeing the sports administration for the other three teams in the SS&E family (Austin Spurs, Silver Stars and San Antonio Rampage). In the summer of 1997 he became the Spurs Director of Scouting, was promoted to Vice President/Assistant GM in the summer of 1999, and became the Spurs GM in 2002. In Buford's time with the Spurs, the team has won five NBA championships.

In this video, Buford talks about the Spurs’ first full-time female assistant coach, Becky Hammon, who was also the first female coach in a professional league. He emphasizes that the Spurs hired Hammon because of her personality, passion, basketball mind, and ability to develop relationships - they didn't hire her because of her gender. Buford believes that coaches should be evaluated by who they are and what they bring to the team and how they can influence others within and outside the organization. The hiring process shouldn't be about gender.