Dawn Staley to Carry U.S. Flag into Athens Opening Ceremony

The 2004 U.S. Olympic Team elected two-time Olympic gold medallist Dawn Staley of Philadelphia, PA as the flag bearer to lead the USA delegation into Friday night’s Opening Ceremony. A staple of USA Basketball teams since 1989, Staley was a member of the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Teams and holds World Championships gold medals from 1998 and 2002. She has been selected to three WNBA All-Star Games and received WNBA awards for both Sportsmanship and Entrepreneurial Spirit in 1999. A North Central Philadelphia native, she credits her passion to the poverty-stricken neighborhood where she was raised.

"I’m not an emotional person, but this makes me emotional," said Staley, a five-season WNBA veteran with the Charlotte Sting and three-year head coach of Temple University. "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."

"I was the youngest of five and my family didn’t have money, but that taught me to have a lot of heart. The boys in my neighborhood were always playing games and I had to play. If I had a ball and they wanted to use it, I was going to play. Most people would never say that the projects had ever produced something great, but all my life, they’ve been my base."

After carrying the Olympic torch in the fall of 1996, Staley transformed that base into a charitable trust, creating the Dawn Staley Foundation dedicated to building a future of hope for at-risk youth by providing opportunities to help them realize their dreams.

"If the team captains picked their flag bearer because of what each athlete did in sport, every Olympian should carry the flag. Sport is just the vehicle to allow you to do other things outside of it," said Staley.

With vehicles like the Dawn Staley After School Project, Basketball League, Clinics and the "Day in the Park," she has reached tens of thousands of youth in the North Central Philadelphia area with her community outreach. "Carrying the Olympic flame in 1996 was an honor, but carrying the flag is going to be a ray of hope. A little girl from the housing projects of North Philly is leading the U.S. team into the Olympic Games. It’s bigger than any basketball game I’ve ever played."

Year U.S. Flag Bearer (Sport)
1908 Ralph Rose (Athletics)
1912 George V. Bonhag (Athletics)
1920 Patrick J. McDonald (Athletics)
1924 Patrick J. McDonald (Athletics)
1928 Lemuel (Bud) C. Houser (Athletics)
1932 F. Morgan Taylor (Athletics)
1936 Alfred A. Jochim (Gymnastics)
1948 Ralph C. Craig (Yachting)
1952 Norman C. Armitage (Fencing)
1956 Norman C. Armitage (Fencing)
#Warren B. Wofford (Equestrian)
1960 Rafer L. Johnson (Athletics)
1964 William Parry O'Brien (Athletics)
1968 Janice Lee Romary (Fencing)
1972 Olga Fikotova Connolly (Athletics)
1976 Gary W. Hall (Swimming)
1980 USA did not attend
1984 Edward Burke (Athletics)
1988 Evelyn Ashford (Athletics)
1992 Francie Larrieu Smith (Athletics)
1996 Bruce Baumgartner (Wrestling)
2000 Cliff Meidl (Canoe/Kayak)

#Due to Australia's immigration laws for horses, the 1956 equestrian events were held separately in Stockholm.

Official U.S. Olympic Team Press Release
Photo Courtesy of U.S. Olympic Team