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¨We are extremely excited to welcome Jennifer to our coaching staff. She is a great addition to our running backs room and brings years of valuable playing and coaching experience to the table.¨
— -Bears General Manager, Ryan Poles.
.sno-pullquote-673e4954d65c9 { display: flex; float: left; margin: 30px 30px 30px 0; width: 50%; border-color: #000080; border-top-width: 5px; border-right-width: 5px; border-bottom-width: 5px; border-left-width: 5px; background-color: #cc5500; } .sno-pullquote-673e4954d65c9 p.pullquotetext, .sno-pullquote-673e4954d65c9 p.quotespeaker { color: #ffffff !important; } .sno-pullquote-673e4954d65c9 .pullquotepic { width: 33%; margin-left: 25px; } .sno-story-body .sno-pullquote-673e4954d65c9 p.pullquotetext { font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.4em; } .sno-pullquote-673e4954d65c9 .quotebar { background: #dddddd; flex: 0 0 90px; margin-top: -15px; margin-left: -15px; padding-left: 15px; padding-top: 15px; margin-right: 15px; } .sno-pullquote-673e4954d65c9 .largequote { color: #ffffff; } .sno-pullquote-673e4954d65c9 .quotebody { width: unset; } October 8, 2024 marked an important progression in not only the history of the National Hockey League (NHL), but in women’s history as a whole. On this date, the Seattle Krakens had their home opener against the St. Louis Blues, and despite their loss, a new light was shined towards the bench of the team.Jessica Campbell has been named the first woman to hold a full-time coaching job in NHL history, now sitting as the Krakens full-time assistant coach. But what does this mean for women who are attempting to pursue a job in sports in general? Women have slowly but surely had multiple turning points in sports history.
According to the National Women’s History Museum, the nineteenth century was a time when women were expected to be idealized with modesty, therefore participating in sports was poorly looked upon. During the Gilded Age, women of the elite status were associated with sports that were deemed acceptable for aristocratic ladies such as tennis, croquet, archery, and bathing-beauty swimming.
The modern day Olympics were brought back in 1896, however women weren’t allowed to compete in the events until 1920 with a special ¨Women’s Olympics¨ in 1922 as well as the 1930s. By using the huddles set into place, women such as Helen Wills and Gertrude Ederle took ¨leisure-class¨ and ¨feminine-fashion associated¨ sports such as tennis and swimming as an opportunity to model a new form of athletics for women.
Since then, women have only gotten more vocal about fighting for their spots in sports history. Research done by the International Olympic Committee, the number of women competing in the Olympic Games has increased from ¨34 percent of the total at Atlanta 1996 to a new record of 48 percent at Tokyo 2020.¨
Women have made their debuts one by one in high leadership position such as coaching in popular sports leagues such as the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), and as mentioned previously, National Hockey League (NHL).
National Football League (NFL): Jennifer King
Jennifer King took on a position in 2021 as a full-time National Football League (NFL) coach. At age 39, she became the first woman in the league’s 104 year history, but her path wasn’t easy.
After graduating with a sports management degree from Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, King played in the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA) as a quarterback and receiver for the Carolina Phoenix from 2006-2017, a defensive back and receiver for the New York Sharks in 2018, and a safety for the D.C. Divas in 2019.
According to an article by the Chicago Bears, after meeting former Bears linebacker Ron Rivera, King expressed her desire to work within the league and secured a position as a coaching intern in late 2018. A position she would hold for the next two seasons.
In 2020, she would continue to progress by accompanying Rivera to the Commanders as a coaching intern. This opportunity would lead her to her current position as the assistant running backs coach, a role she’d held for the past three seasons.
¨Chicago is a great city, and the Bears organization is historic,¨ King tells reporters. ¨He’s (Rivera) has been so important in my life and him being a part of those historic defenses for the Bears as well. It’s definity an exciting time. Hopefully we can hit the ground running and get ready for 2024.¨
National Basketball Association (NBA): Becky Hammon
Becky Hammon made headlines when she became the first female to step up as acting head coach during a regular season game in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After San Antiono Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich had been ejected from a game against the visiting Los Angelos Lakers, assistant coach Becky Hammon stepped up to fill in the shoes.
According to an article published by ESPN, Popovich had received a technical foul and was run from the game with 3:56 remaining in the second quarter for ¨arguing with a referee over a no-call¨ as the Spurs had been trailing the Lakers 52-41.
She played 16 seasons, split evenly between New York and San Antonio as a Silver Star player. Hammon was a six-time All-Star player in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) for leding in assists per game in 2007, and earned four nods to the All-League team. She also helped the franchise four times to the WNBA Finals and led the league six times in free throw percentage.
When Popovich got ejected, Hammon was quick to set up to the plate and take on this challenging role. A small act that would make headlines and essentially history.
Hammon even received support in the post game from Lakers’ coach Frank Vogel and star player, Lebron James. Both of which commented positively on Hammon’s hard work, passion, and experience.
¨Obviously, she’s here for a reason,¨ comments Vogel. ¨She’s equipped. She’s intelligent. The guys have such a great respect for her. And I think she’s going to be a head coach in this league someday.¨
Major League Baseball (MLB): Alyssa Nakken
In April of 2021, Alyssa Nakken established another milestone for women’s history by becoming the first woman to coach on the field in Major League Baseball (MLB).
As the San Francisco Giants took their victory against the Padres, another victory was highlighted as Nakken took over as the Giants’ first-base coach during the top of the third inning. Head coach Antoan Richardson was ejected from the game by crew chief Greg Gibson following a dispute with Padres third-base coach Mike Shildt.
¨I´ve been in training as a first-base coach for the last few years,¨ Nakken says in an article posted by the MLB. ¨I work alongside Antoan, so I stepped into what I´ve been hired to do.¨
National Hockey League (NHL): Jessica Campbell
Jessica Campbell, age 32, took on the position as the assistant coach for the Krakens in July of 2024. Campbell brings a spring of knowledge from her own experiences playing ice hockey in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, and Canada’s women’s national team.
Campbell joined the Krakens two seasons ago as the assistant coach for Coachella Valley in the American Hockey League (AHL), where she was named the first woman to coach in AHL history.
Seattle general manager Ron Francis became aware of Campbell and her success from her work with the Men’s National team in Germany. From here, Francis took a chance and gave her a position as a coach for Coachella Valley. Now, she continues to strive as assistant coach for the Seattle Krakens.
¨Maybe in a naive way, I’ve had the courage to believe that this could be possible,¨ Campbell tells NHL.com. ¨Even though I didn’t see it, I believed I could do it. And I think that with that inner belief, whatever it is, in sport, in life, you can create whatever you believe in.¨