Wednesday, August 12, 2020
by Saint Martin's Athletic Communciations

ATLANTA – Saint Martin's women's basketball head coach Christy Martin was selected to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) newly formed Social Justice Task Force, as announced on Wednesday.
 
The Social Justice Task Force joined the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Committee on Racial Reconciliation in supporting the West Coast Conference's "Russell Rule." The rule, named after Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell, aims to support promoting diversity in the candidate pools when colleges fill coaching vacancies.
 
"I am honored, and humbled to have been chosen to represent Division II women's basketball in this fight for social justice," said Martin. "This is an incredible group dedicated to doing the work that is absolutely necessary."
 
Martin is one of 14 members on the task force, which is composed of members throughout all of women's college basketball from head coaches, to assistant coaches, and athletic directors. She is one of five head coaches on the task force and the only member from a Division II school.
 
The WBCA's Social Justice Task Force functions under the auspices of the association's Diversity & Inclusion Committee and is focused on promoting racial equality in three areas: hiring practices, training and education, and advocacy and awareness. The task force held its first meeting on July 14. In addition to recommending the WBCA support the "Russell Rule," the task force has also launched the #TakeChargeAndVote social media campaign to educate coaches and their teams about history, facts and statistics on suffrage in the U.S. and the importance of voting, and is working to provide educational programming and give a voice to coaches on social justice issues.