New Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts is “sensitive” to questions of gender bias prompted by his hiring. But after speaking with Mercury players, he isn’t concerned, he said at his introductory press conference Friday.

The Mercury’s decision to hire Tibbetts, 46, who comes to the WNBA with no head coaching experience and no women’s basketball experience, and to make him the highest-paid head coach in the league, led to heated discourse.

In particular, former Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw took to social media following the news to call out the inequities baked into the coaching pipeline, saying: “Gender bias is real.”

“I don’t really live online,” Tibbetts said when asked about the criticism over his hiring. “Me speaking to the players, and them welcoming the way that they have, that’s just made me not worried about things that they’re not worried about, to be completely honest.

“I’m sensitive to the situation. I know I’m one of only three male head coaches in the WNBA. And so I take responsibility for that. I know that people are questioning it, and agree or disagree, I’m going to do the best job that I can and do the best for our players and try to put them in positions to get better and be successful. But that’s my main focus.”

Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren also addressed the criticism at Friday’s press conference.

“We know, as we run a WNBA organization, that diversity and opportunity are critical,” U’Ren said. “I would say our process, our candidate pool and our finalist pool all reflected that.”

Tibbetts takes the reins from interim head coach Nikki Blue. Blue took the helm after Phoenix fired head coach Vanessa Nygaard in June. For U’Ren, the decision not to stick with Blue as the permanent head coach came down to what Tibbetts could bring to the table.

“You could ask me 100 questions about Nikki, and 100 times, I’m not going to tell you negative,” he said. “This ultimately was about Nate brought, not what Nikki or any other candidate didn’t have.”

While this will be Tibbetts’ first time coaching in the WNBA, he has held multiple NBA assistant coaching roles. He joined the Orlando Magic in 2021, and previously worked with the Portland Trail Blazers and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Nate Tibbetts is the new head coach for the Phoenix Mercury. But his hiring has been greeted with heated discourse over gender bias.

Despite coming to the WNBA with no head coaching experience and no women’s basketball experience, Tibbetts, 46, is set to become the highest-paid coach in the league, ESPN reported. He succeeds interim head coach Nikki Blue, who took the helm after Phoenix fired head coach Vanessa Nygaard in June.

Former Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw took to social media following the news to call out the inequities baked into the coaching pipeline.

“Breaking news: white man hires white man to coach WNBA team AND makes him the highest paid coach in the league. Gender bias is real,” she wrote. “95% of men’s sport coaches r male and 60% of women’s sport coaches r male- title IX is 50 yet we don’t have equal oppty, equal pay or equal rights.”

This isn’t the first time McGraw has called out this issue. Back in 2020, she spoke with The Athletic about the “coaching crisis” in women’s basketball, pointing out the shift in the head coaching ranks from women to men.

In 2020, just four of the 12 head coaches in the WNBA were women. And there was just one Black female coach in the league. The league has shifted since then; at the end of the 2023 season, nine of the 12 coaches in the league were women, and three of them were Black.

Up until Tibbetts’ hiring, Becky Hammon was the highest-paid head coach in the league – and with the Aces winning back-to-back titles in her first two seasons, a pay raise may be in her future.

For now, though, Hammon will be dethroned as the highest-paid coach by Tibbetts. And while he could turn out to be exactly what Phoenix needs, his hiring by new Mercury owner Mat Ishbia — and his new general manager Nick U’Ren — has raised eyebrows.

“I really believe that people hire people who look like them,” McGraw told The Athletic in 2020.

To add to the furor, the Mercury used the moniker “girl dad” to describe Tibbetts in their social media announcement of his hire, as if that is a relevant qualification for a head coach of a professional basketball league.

“Imagine if Boy Mom was a qualification for coaching in the WNBA,” wrote one social media user.

“You’re touting being a ‘Girl Dad’ as a qualification? You’re hiring someone with zero experience in the women’s game? AND you’re announcing it the night of Game 4?” wrote USA Today Sports columnist Nancy Armour. “Tell me you don’t care about women’s sports without telling me you don’t care about women’s sports.”

Orlando Magic assistant coach Nate Tibbetts is the new head coach of the Phoenix Mercury, the team announced Wednesday.

The Mercury are making Tibbetts, who has no women’s basketball experience, the highest-paid WNBA head coach, passing the Las Vegas Aces’ Becky Hammon, ESPN reported Monday. The terms of Tibbetts’ deal have not been reported, but Hammon reportedly earns $1 million per season.

Hammon signed with the Aces on a record-setting deal ahead of the 2022 offseason. Before that, she spent eight seasons as an assistant coach with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. Teresa Weatherspoon, who was hired last week as the head coach of the Chicago Sky, also brought NBA experience. Both Hammon and Weatherspoon also have WNBA playing experience.

While this will be Tibbetts’ first time coaching in the WNBA, he has held multiple NBA assistant coaching roles. He joined the Magic in 2021, and previously worked with the Portland Trail Blazers and Cleveland Cavaliers.

“Nate is an excellent basketball coach and an even better person,” Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren said in a news release. “I am excited to work with him as we build an organization that our players, fans and community will be proud of. His knowledge of the game, and commitment to creating a winning culture on and off the floor will be invaluable as we lead the Mercury into our next championship era.”

Tibbetts takes over a Mercury team that has struggled in recent seasons. In 2023, the team finished last in the league with a 9-31 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

Phoenix parted ways with head coach Vanessa Nygaard in late June, and then after the season elected not to elevate interim head coach Nikki Blue to the permanent role.

“From bringing the WNBA All-Star game to Phoenix, building a dedicated practice facility for the Mercury, and now to bringing on Nate as our head coach, everything we do, on and off the floor, centers around our fans, elevating Phoenix as the epicenter of basketball, and setting a new standard for investment in women’s sports,” Mercury owner Mat Ishbia said in a news release.

Nate Tibbetts is set to become the highest-paid coach in WNBA history with the Phoenix Mercury, which prompted one WNBA star to call out the pay discrepancies between players and coaches.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad coaches are getting paid,” Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier wrote on social media. “But it’s kinda crazy they’re making 4 times more than the highest paid players.”

For the 2023 season, Indiana Fever guard Erica Wheeler was the highest-paid player in the league, with a salary of $242,154. In 2024, a trio of players are set to lead the league with salaries of $241,984: Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale, Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd and Chicago Sky guard Kahleah Copper.

Collier had a salary of $202,154 for the 2023 season. The average salary for WNBA players in the 2022 season stood at $102,751.

Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon, who was the highest-paid coach in the WNBA before Tibbetts, reportedly earns $1 million per season. While the exact terms of the deal have not been reported, he is set to outearn Hammon, ESPN reported Monday.

Collier is not the first player who has called out salary issues in the WNBA. Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum pointed out the pay gap with the NBA after the 2022 season, saying: “We’re not asking to get paid what the men get paid. We’re asking to get paid the same percentage of revenue shared.”