"Hold the flag straight": South Carolina's Dawn Staley cheers on Coco Gauff and LeBron James as flag bearers, offers wholesome tips

As a former flag bearer, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley had a few tips for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics flag bearers, Coco Gauff and LeBron James. Staley led Team USA 20 years ago in the 2004 Athens Olympics. She was the first basketball player and the second black woman.

On Friday, as James and Gauff prepared for their first trip leading the USA contingent, Staley shared her advice for the two on X. She wrote:

"Hey @CocoGauff @KingJames! Congrats on being our flag bearers! Btw yall look great? Hold the flag straight…no dipping. 🥰🥰🥰Permanent smile….you’re not going to be able to anything else but smile because it is the coolest and most unreal feeling ever! Enjoy the moment!"

Coco Guaff is the first tennis player and youngest athlete to carry the USA flag, while LeBron James became the first flag bearer in men's basketball. When talking about the experience, he said:

“I mean, I think what’s different is always a new experience, you know. You know, new group of guys. Some guys have never been Olympians before, so you want them to see the whole, you know, the whole moment of being in Paris.”

It's a great opportunity for myself to continue to inspire the next generation and super excited to be here. You know, like I said, been a part of Athens, Greece, the Athens games, the Beijing games, the London games, and now the Paris games and you know they always special in their own right.”

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Dawn Staley's journey in the Olympics national team

Coach Dawn Staley made her Olympics debut during the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. She won gold and repeated the same success two more times in Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004).

When she was selected as the flag bearer in Athens, she said:

“I am still in total disbelief. I’m not an emotional person, but this makes me emotional. I’m invisible most of the time. I’m not even a conversation starter. I usually do all my talking on the court, so it’s an honor that so many other sports see me in a different light.”

From a player, Dawn Staley transitioned to coaching and led Team USA to a gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. At the Paris Olympics, Staley is once again a part of the show but in a more administrative role. She joined the First Lady of the USA, Jill Biden, in the presidential delegation that cheered the athletes at the opening ceremony.

Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff will lead the closing ceremony delegation on August 11.