Dawn Staley’s Generosity Goes Beyond the Sideline
Dawn Staley didn’t need a reason to be kind. She just needed the opportunity.
When the South Carolina head coach visited Southern University’s team hotel Wednesday ahead of their first-round NCAA Tournament matchup, what began as a motivational drop-in turned into something more memorable. A few Jaguars players noticed her fragrance and asked what she was wearing. Staley filed the moment away and acted on it.
“A couple of them said, ‘You smell good. What are you wearing?'” Staley said Friday. “When I got home, my friend who works at Louis Vuitton sent me samples. Let me just give it to them. I just had enough to give to the whole team. It was just a small gesture. I had them and probably wouldn’t utilize them. I just did it.”
The Louis Vuitton samples found their way to the entire Southern roster, and the reaction spoke for itself — the team’s video response, posted on the March Madness X/Twitter account Thursday night, showed genuine excitement. For a 20-win mid-major program making a tournament appearance, it was an unexpected and warmly received touch from the opposing coach.
But the gesture was never really about perfume. During her Wednesday visit, Staley also addressed both Southern and Samford — who were preparing for a First Four matchup — with the same message she’s delivered to opposing teams before big games for years.
CLICK 👇 HERE TO WATCH
“I talked to both teams. Bring your practice habits to the game,” Staley said. “They deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament. They played well to be here. It is fortunate and unfortunate that someone is going to take a loss. The most important thing is to enjoy the experience of playing in the tournament because a lot of teams aren’t in their position, and to treat people kind.”
This pattern of cross-program investment is consistent and deliberate. Before facing Norfolk State in 2023, Staley quietly picked up the tab for the Spartans’ team dinner at a Columbia steakhouse. In 2024, she spoke to Presbyterian and Sacred Heart before their First Four games. Earlier this season, she scheduled a road game at Coppin State — a fellow HBCU — at a time when few programs of South Carolina’s caliber would consider it.
“Not every team will go and play an HBCU on their home court,” Staley said. “And we feel like great game, great competition, great coaching. And if we can lift, because we play the game and get some notoriety to the HBCUs, then we’ll do that.”
Her reach extends even further. On Friday, UCLA star Lauren Betts wrote in The Players’ Tribune that Staley had quietly supported her through mental health struggles — speaking with Betts’ mother during a difficult period without seeking recognition for it. “She’s been really amazing to me and my family through my entire basketball career,” Betts wrote.
Staley’s Gamecocks enter Saturday as heavy favorites. But the story surrounding the game has already said something about who she is when the cameras aren’t pointed at her.
