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Arizona coach pumps breast milk for her baby during halftime of NCAA Women's championship game

"For those of you who think this is too much information, let's normalize working mothers and all they have to do," reporter Holly Rowe said.

Arizona coach pumps breast milk for her baby during halftime of NCAA Women's championship game
Cover Image Source: Head coach Adia Barnes of the Arizona Wildcats at the Alamodome on April 04, 2021, in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Adia Barnes, the head coach of the University of Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team, was juggling many hats during the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship game on Sunday in San Antonio. Barnes β€” a former WNBA champion β€” was reportedly spotted coming out of the locker room a bit later than the rest of the team for the second half. According to PEOPLE, reporter Holly Rowe revealed that the 44-year-old spent part of halftime pumping breast milk for her 6-month-old baby girl, Capri. "They have to warm up the bottle with the heat packs that are here on the sideline," Rowe said. "She is doing it all."



 

"For those of you who think this is too much information, let's normalize working mothers and all they have to do," she added. Speaking to reporters after the game, Barnes said: "I had a baby right when the season started. And took like a week off, it says I took a month off but I did not. I was on Zoom calls four days after having a C-section so it was hard. But my team loved on me. I missed a couple of weeks, I got a little sick, they fought for me. I came back. They were patient. I'm happy."



 

"I represented moms, I have a baby here. I hear her crying ready to feed. I represent moms, you can be a coach, you can do it at an elite level," she continued. "You just have to have a village like I do. I represent Black females, don't get here too often and don't get opportunities. But I had an opportunity today on the biggest stage and represented a lot." Barnes, who has been documenting the highs and lows of parenthood on Twitter with a touch of maternal humor, previously acknowledged the many hats she wears in an interview with Pac-12 Networks' Ashley Adamson, Ros Gold-Onwude, and Mary Murphy.



 

"I took a step back. I'm like, 'Wow, there's a lot of hats.' It's the former WNBA [player], it's the Black woman, it's the mom," she said. "But it's a privilege for me. You can be great at all these things. You can be someone representing, and doing it with class, and professionalism, and doing well at your job. You can be a mom, you don't have to stop coaching. You just have to have support, and a village."



 

"We didn't have a nanny," Barnes continued. "We lost our nanny right before this trip. No one knows that. I don't talk about that publicly. It's been hard. But I've had people that have stepped up... And that's what it's all about or else, we can't be successful. We have to support women if we want women to coach women's basketball. And there should be. There should be women. There should be more representation of Black women. There should be more former players. But when we have the opportunities, we must do well. We must win, we must change our programs. Don't hire me just because I'm a mom. Don't hire me because I'm a Black female. Don't hire me because I'm a former WNBA player. Hire me because you think I'm something special and I can do something great."



 

"And then we elevate each other and we help each other. So my job, is to help other women, and I have done that β€” I've been a voice. I'm doing it every day," Barnes continued. "My job is also to pull someone else along. I can help someone. Maybe help the next WNBA player. Maybe help train someone, maybe help hire someone. So those are things that I'm doing." Although No. 3 seed Arizona ultimately lost to Stanford by one point (53-54), Barnes gained much praise on social media for being a "badass" working mother and leading the university to its first Final Four appearance.



 

 



 

 



 

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