Truthfully, I don’t recall the first time I met Coach Summitt. And I think that’s because our conversations when I covered the team became so frequent – and so familiar – that it was as if I’d always known her. She had that way about her: The minute you met her, you felt as if you’d been friends for years. She was so socially charming and easy to talk to; it’s no wonder she could convince any young high school star to come to Knoxville. I would’ve swam across the Tennessee River for her, knowing her the little bit that I did.
As a UT student, I was a Lady Vols beat reporter in 2001-02 (Chattanooga Times Free Press) and 2002-03 (The Tennessean). Those were very good teams, fun teams to cover. I still keep in touch with All-America guard Kara Lawson, now an ESPN colleague. But more than any specific game, what I remember were … the practices. I would go every day after class and sit courtside at the scorer’s table with Dan Fleser from the News Sentinel. At some point during practice – every, single practice – Coach Summitt would come over and sit on the edge of the table in front of us and just casually chat with Dan and I.
Pat Summitt, who felt larger than life to me growing up in East Tennessee, was my friend. That still feels shocking and cool to say, a dream come true.
And here’s the thing: She treated me just the same way that she treated Dan, who had covered the team for something like 20 years at that point. Meanwhile, I had been on Earth for 20 years. I’d never covered a team on a daily basis before. What a place to learn. What a person to learn from. And, as I think about it now, maybe Coach Summitt knew that it was something of a classroom for me. I wasn’t one of her players, but maybe she knew I was learning how to become a writer and reporter in a similar way that Lawson was learning to become a point guard. I think she was that intuitive and that perceptive of others’ situations.
When Coach Summitt won her 900th game in 2006, I sent her a note to congratulate her. I was working as a reporter covering Atlanta Braves baseball, and I thanked her for the foundation on which my professional career was based. I didn’t really expect a response at all – but she wrote me back within a week or two. It was the middle of the season, right before the SEC Tournament. She told me that she was glad that she could help me in my career.
A lot of people are talking now about Coach Summitt’s impact on women’s basketball and women’s athletics – and sports, as a whole. Rightfully so. She was truly a pioneer who should be lauded for her work to build a sport and create opportunities for thousands and thousands of young women. But that’s not what I think of when I think of her. I think of the sharp-witted, warm person who would come over and talk with me for 20-30 minutes a day. I think of how she treated me, even though I was just a kid finding my way. I think of how she treated everyone she encountered, greeting them with a kind word or a joke — whatever the situation called for. She was always pitch perfect..
She was special to me. She was special to a lot of people. I hate that she’s gone. I still cannot believe it. But I’m so thankful for her influence on my life. I’m thankful for that time spent with her and around her. With apologies to those in Circle Park, it was my best class at UT.
Travis Haney (2003)
ESPN Staff Writer
KNOXVILLE,TN - JANUARY 28, 2013 - Head Coach Pat Summitt banner is risen during the game between the Noter Dame Fighting Irish and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Tennessee Athletics
