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NBA Continues To Open Doors For Women

Published

10 years ago

October 10, 2015

Sacramento, CA – Becky Hammon made headlines last year when she became the first woman hired as a NBA assistant coach. This summer she became the first ever woman to coach the NBA Summer League in Vegas. Hammond also led the San Antonio Spurs to win the Summer League Championship. This season another phenomenal woman joins the elite league.

Former WNBA player and coach Nancy Lieberman was hired this summer to help out during summer league with Sacramento Kings. Head coach George Karl was so impressed, he decided to bring her back for the season. Lieberman becomes the second woman hired as an assistant coach since Hammon was hired in 2014.

“I thought about this 12 or 13 years ago,” said Karl. “I remember in Milwaukee I had list of ladies that I was thinking about interviewing and hiring. I just never got down that road. I’m glad it’s opening up a window, I think its going to gradually grow. There’s definitely a lot of positives to it.”

Thursday night both ladies had the opportunity to catch up when both their teams faced each other in a preseason game. The Kings took advantage of a Spurs team who were without their starters and head coach Gregg Popovich. They beat San Antonio 95-92 with both women on opposing benches.

Photo by Antonio Ray

Hammon enters her second season as an assistant coach and does not want to talk about opening the door for Lieberman. Both women who were elite players in the WNBA are humbled to be apart of the NBA as coaches but their path to success is more than just being a woman on the bench.

“Let me correct you real quick,” Hammon said. “Nancy and the older players opened doors for me a long time ago to get the WNBA established, so I’m really riding what other women did for me to be here. If there was no WNBA which she [Lieberman] fought so hard to get for my generation, I wouldn’t here today.”

The the success for both Hammon and Lieberman began with the WNBA, a women’s counterpart to the NBA. The journey wasn’t easy but as a whole the league and players earned their respect. The opportunity to crossover may not be for everyone but it’s a opportunity for the elite to embark on path that others may follow.

“We were never in a contest. If Jackie Robinson makes it to major league baseball and if there was no Larry Doby, we have failed,” Lieberman said. “We have won because Becky did open a door and I’m proud of her, not only as my sister and my friend but as a professional. But the real sense of accomplishment in winning is that less than a year later there’s somebody else in the league.”

Photo by Antonio Ray

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was quoted by saying “Whether it’s Becky or another woman, especially when we see the number of young women playing our sport, we see the number of women in the WNBA and we see, increasingly, the number of women who work in the NBA. I think, just like we’ve seen enormous change in our society, just in the last decade, that’s another ceiling, another barrier that will be broken.”

The road to the NBA has not been easy for most but these two women have an exceptional resume. Hammon had an impressive playing career before sustaining an injury. In her time off she began attending Spurs practices. The following year she became an assistant coach. Her knowledge of basketball well exceeds many current head coaches.

Lieberman blazed the trail while being one of the first women playing in the Women’s Pro Basketball League long before the WNBA was established. After retiring as a player Lieberman was hired as a coach and General Manager for the Detroit Shock. She was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996, and now she’s brings her talent over to the NBA as an assistant coach.

“We didn’t get hired because we’re women, we got hired because we’re qualified,” said Lieberman.

“It’s just basketball. “It’s what we’ve been doing our whole lives,” Hammon said. “We worked tirelessly to become great basketball players. And to be rewarded on the men’s side just shows how far society has come.”

The most important aspect of the job is the players. This league is much younger than the days when both Hammon and Lieberman played basketball. Especially for Lieberman who played professionally with men during her playing days. The goal is to make the players better at every angle and for these two ladies the challenge is welcomed.

“I don’t know if its that big of a deal, said Spurs forward David West. “Everyone knows she’s a good player and has a lot of basketball knowledge. Based on that is why she’s here and not because she’s a lady.

“The pressure is to be a good coach and give back to the guys as much as we can,” said Hammon. “The amazing thing for us is that we get to do what we love. And now make a living at it, at the highest level and that’s really cool.”

“Change is hard and our job is to make it normal. They gave us access and accessibility to make it normal,” Lieberman said.

Oakland Post

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Rest in Peace: A.M.E. Pastor and L.A Civil Rights Icon Cecil “Chip” Murray Passes

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94. “Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Published

4 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94.

“Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Murray oversaw the growth of FAME’s congregation from 250 members to 18,000.

“My heart is with the First AME congregation and community today as we reflect on a legacy that changed this city forever,” Bass continued.

Murray served as Senior Minister at FAME, the oldest Black congregation in the city, for 27 years. During that time, various dignitaries visited and he built strong relationships with political and civic leaders in the city and across the state, as well as a number of Hollywood figures. Several national political leaders also visited with Murray and his congregation at FAME, including Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Murray, a Florida native and U.S. Air Force vet, attended Florida A&M University, where he majored in history, worked on the school newspaper and pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He later attended Claremont School of Theology in Los Angeles County, where he earned his doctorate in Divinity.

Murray is survived by his son Drew. His wife Bernadine, who was a committed member of the A.M.E. church and the daughter of his childhood pastor, died in 2013.

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Court Throws Out Law That Allowed Californians to Build Duplexes, Triplexes and RDUs on Their Properties

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional. Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

Published

4 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional.

Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the cities, pointing out that SB 9 discredited charter cities that were granted jurisdiction to create new governance systems and enact policy reforms. The court ruling affects 121 charter cities that have local constitutions.

Attorney Pam Lee represented five Southern California cities in the lawsuit against the state and Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“This is a monumental victory for all charter cities in California,” Lee said.

However, general law cities are excluded from the court ruling as state housing laws still apply in residential areas.

Attorney General Bonta and his team are working to review the decision and consider all options that will protect SB 9 as a state law. Bonta said the law has helped provide affordable housing for residents in California.

“Our statewide housing shortage and affordability crisis requires collaboration, innovation, and a good faith effort by local governments to increase the housing supply,” Bonta said.

“SB9 is an important tool in this effort, and we’re going to make sure homeowners have the opportunity to utilize it,” he said.

Charter cities remain adamant that the state should refrain from making land-use decisions on their behalf. In the lawsuit, city representatives argued that SB 9 eliminates local authority to create single-family zoning districts and approve housing developments.

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Funds for Down Payments and Credit Repair Given to Black First Time Homebuyers

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) won a $10,000 fair housing settlement last November against a property management company, CIM Group LP, a global real estate company headquartered in Los Angeles, and property owner, RACR Sora, LLC, for implementing a blanket ban on renting to tenants with criminal histories at Sora Apartments in Inglewood. Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

Published

4 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media

Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

CRD Director Kevin Kish said the department investigates cases of apparent racial bias in housing and sometimes more subtle acts of prejudice like nuisance-free or crime-free housing policies or holding tenants to different standards based on their race.

Kish said, “People will get evicted if they call the police. This can negatively impact victims of domestic violence. We also see these no-crime ordinances, or no-crime policies, used in racially discriminatory ways. If there is some kind of incident, and the police are called and it involves a Black family, then they get evicted, but other folks aren’t necessarily evicted.”

On April 11,1968, a week after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, President Lydon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, and nationality.

Kish noted that William Byron Rumford, the first Black California State Assemblymember, who represented Berkley and Oakland, spearheaded the passing of the Rumford Act in 1963. That law sought to end discriminatory housing practices in the Golden State, five years before the Fair Housing Act became law.
Real estate agent and housing advocate Ashley Garner is the director of the CLTRE Keeper Home Ownership program. That organization gave 25 Black, indigenous, and people of color $17,500 each in down payment and credit repair support to purchase a home in Oak Park, a traditionally Black neighborhood in Sacramento, last fall. CLTRE obtained a $500,000 grant from the city of Sacramento to award the funds to the residents after they completed an eight-week homeownership program.

In 2021, the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) noted that around four in 10 Black California families owned homes, which trails that of White, Asian-American and Latinos.
According to Forbes, the median price for a home in California is over $500,000, which is double the cost of a home in the rest of the country.

Black lawmakers recently introduced their Reparations Priority Bill Package that includes support for Black first-time homebuyers, homeowners’ mortgage assistance and property tax relief for neighborhoods restricted by historic redlining.

California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) spokesperson Eric Johnson said CalHFA helps prospective low-income and moderate-income Californians purchase homes by offering down payment and closing cost aid. “There are lots of people who have steady jobs, good credit scores, constant income, but they haven’t been able to save up the money that traditional banks need or want to see for a down payment,” Johnson stated. “We help those folks out. We give a loan for the down payment to get them over that hurdle.”
CRD and the Department of Real Estate hosted “Fair Housing Protections for People with Criminal Histories” Zoom call on April 10.

On April 25, CRD will also hold Zoom seminars focused on advocating for fair housing for people with disabilities.