"Pokey" Chatman returns to coaching

Dana "Pokey Chatman/Courtesy: Al Podgorski/Sun-times

((ht: chicago sun-times))

For those who are unfamiliar with Dana "Pokey" Chatman, perhaps we can give you some back story. Chatman was the former women's basketball coach at LSU almost 4 years ago. She lost her job after an assistant coach charged her with being "Intimate" with some of her players.

She resigned shortly afterwards. The original story is RIGHT HERE

Mind you, Chatman was incredibly successful at LSU, they had reached 3 straight Final Four's under her watch. And no, despite her dismissal, she was never proven guilty of any charges. LSU, for their part, hasn't done nearly as much since then.

Fast forward to now. Chatman is back. This time as the coach of the WNBA's Chicago Sky. She reached the Sky after 3 years of coaching in Russia.

Read a very interesting story from Lacy Banks of the Chicago Sun-Times RIGHT HERE

There was a lot of discussion about Chatman's story when it was developing back in early 2007. Again, nothing was ever proven. But yet she was essentially black-balled from the coaching ranks in the U.S. Maybe the question is "How do you prove something like this?" or is it just something that was out of bitterness and innuendo.

Either way, Chatman deserves a chance. She's proven that she can coach. And be successful at it. At a professional level there shouldn't be anything to hold her back. Time, as always we suspect, will tell.

Here's an interview with her back in 2007, before all the trouble went down: