Dawn Staley Says Former South Carolina Players Are 'In A War Zone,' Working To Get Them Home
Currently in Israel, former South Carolina basketball player Destiny Littleton has been documenting her experience on social media.
One thing about Dawn Staley: she's going to look out for her players. Even when they aren't her players anymore.
The South Carolina women's basketball coach is working to get three former Gamecocks — Destiny Littleton, Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan and Tiffany Mitchell — home safely from Israel amid the ongoing United States-Israel military strikes against Iran.
Staley revealed Saturday on X that the three former players are currently "in a war zone" in Israel.
"We are working a plan to get home," Staley wrote. "Let us pray for our loved ones to return home safely asap! Thank you in advance."
Following South Carolina's 60-56 win over Kentucky on Sunday, Staley said efforts were still underway.
"No updates. Everything’s still the same," Staley said Sunday. "But, we are getting some help from some people who are in decision-making positions. But there’s nothing you can do. You can still hear things that are going off, the sirens and everything that goes on in a war zone."
Littleton, who is currently in Jerusalem, has documented her experience on social media.
"I’m just trying to stay calm," Littleton said, as sirens blared and explosions echoed in the distance. "I really don’t want to even be out here on the streets. I’ll keep you updated."
Later, she told ESPN, "I am doing all right — shaken up but blessed to be safe. There are current options being looked at and [we'll] know more information once we have executed those options to safely get out."
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In an interview with FOX News Digital, Littleton didn't sugarcoat the reality of her situation.
"It’s my reality right now. It’s a war zone," she said. "Right now it’s pretty routine. You sit around, you wait for an alert on your phone, you wait for a siren, you go into a shelter in place, you wait for the all clear, and you just do it again, and do it again, and do it again."
She also spoke about the reassurance she’s received from her former coach.
"She really cares about her babies. We’ll forever be her babies. And she’s trying to be there for us from 7,000 miles away," Littleton said. "As the type of person she is, she is going to use her reach to make sure that we can get home as safe as possible. So it’s been a lot of checking in and making sure we’re okay."
Littleton has been playing for Hapoel Jerusalem in Israel's top women's basketball division this season. Herbert-Harrigan has been competing for Elitzur Ramla in Israeli D1. Mitchell is a WNBA veteran who most recently played for the Seattle Storm.