Stephanie Ready
*On this date in 2001, the first woman coach in men’s professional sports (Basketball) was chosen. Twenty-five-year-old Stephanie Ready is also Black.
In professional sports, both women and men have coached women’s teams, and men have coached themselves; women have never coached men until now. Ms. Ready began her job as assistant coach of the Greenville (S.C.) Groove a team in the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) development league (NBDL).
A former 4-year starter in basketball and a volleyball player at Coppin State College in Baltimore, Ready was also an assistant coach of the men’s basketball team after earning her psychology degree. The NBDL finished its inaugural season in 2001.
