Why does South Carolina's Dawn Staley wear so many bracelets?

COLUMBIA, S.C. — During South Carolina's win in the first round of women's March Madness on Friday, head coach Dawn Staley wore a new diamond-studded, NCAA championship trophy chain given to her by rapper Plies.

The chain was not alone around her neck – it hung alongside beaded bracelets and necklaces. These pieces of jewelry aren’t new — they’ve been a part of Staley’s routine outfit since the summer of 2023. But every so often, a new one is added to the collection.

“When young people give me the bracelets, I just immediately put them on,” Staley said Saturday, ahead of her team facing No. 9 Indiana in the second round on Sunday.

South Carolina senior forward Sania Feagin recently counted 28 bracelets on her coach’s right wrist, Staley said.

“I wear them until they break,” she said.

Some of Staley’s necklaces are gifts from children in the hospital, one from a young man who has sickle cell disease. Staley’s cousin died from sickle cell, and she said it gives her a different perspective.

“I do have empathy for what they go through, and if it helps me to stay empathetic, I’m gonna wear them,” Staley said of her handmade necklaces and bracelets.

Staley won the 2024 Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the ESPY Awards. Staley’s sister, Tracey Underwood, is recovering from leukemia and her friend and former assistant coach Nikki McCray-Penson died in 2023 after a 10-year battle with breast cancer.

Dawn Staley rocks her 28 bracelets and beaded necklaces every game, reminders to herself to remain empathetic.

Two of the necklaces are from Blakely, a young girl going through cancer treatments. Staley met her while visiting the UVA children’s hospital in 2023.

“For us, it’s our world, it’s our passion, it’s what we do,” Staley said of the focus she and her team have on their sport. “It’s really just basketball when you put it in perspective of what other people have to go through.”

Olivia Noni is a student in the University of Georgia's Sports Media Certificate program.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why South Carolina basketball's Dawn Staley wears so many bracelets

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