Overcoming adversity. Resilience. Taking a loss in stride and continuing to work towards a common goal. We understand how these qualities shape durable and successful teams, and in this episode Molly Binetti, the Director of Women’s Basketball Performance for the powerhouse University of South Carolina program, discusses how those same qualities have also been elemental in pushing forward against the political headwinds facing progressive policies and achievements.

The conversation begins with a discussion of how USC head coach Dawn Staley empowers her players and staff to take leadership positions and speak out for what they believe in. Coach Binetti discusses the “People Principles” of empathy and authenticity that Coach Staley promotes, as well as Staley’s “look-sound-feel” approach to recognizing the look, sound, and feel of success while also being prepared to address and fix anything that intuitively looks, sounds, or feels wrong.

Looking back on the 2024 Election, Binetti talks in depth about her involvement in the Strength Coaches For Harris group and shares the sense of community and fellowship she was able to find in that network of her coaching peers.

“As demoralizing as the (election result) was, it’s still nice to be able to know that there are people that are still gonna fight. And the fight’s not over.”

The coaches also discuss GOP attacks on women’s health and civil rights and how coaches can help their female players live their healthiest lives amid efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, and threats to LGBTQ rights. They also dive into the Protect Women’s Sports movement and debate the exploitation of the issue as outrage-bait by those who generally are not that interested in women’s sports, except for those involving the tiny percentage of competitive trans athletes.

That leads to a discussion on the prevalence of online propaganda as a tool to inflame and divide, and how Binetti tries to guide her athletes toward a healthy media diet as an element of their overall health. Finally, Binetti breaks down her definition of patriotism as based in the shared humanity that binds everyone together.

Chapter List

00:00 Core Values in Coaching

06:03 The Human Element in Leadership

08:46 Political Advocacy in Coaching

11:40 Women's Health and Political Issues

17:33 Protecting Women's Sports: A Complex Discussion

21:16 The Politics of Women's Sports

24:38 Navigating Media Influence on Athletes

30:49 Defining Patriotism in Modern Society