DALLAS – Over the course of the last 12 months, women have been widely applauded for breaking the glass ceiling of professional men’s sports.

That includes the Spurs’ hiring of Becky Hammon, Vanderbilt’s starting of kicker Sarah Fuller, and the NFL appointing Sarah Thomas as the first female referee to officiate a Super Bowl.

This sudden progression doesn’t stop there. There’s another woman with her foot in the door: Angela Weathers. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Dallas Skyline is a minor league basketball organization within the TBL

  • Angela Weathers is the first female head coach of a men’s professional team

  • Weathers was a standout player at Ole Miss and Northwestern State, a pro in the WNBA, and had a 15-year stint as a trainer and coach

There’s the NBA, and then there’s the G League, a minor league feeder system connected to the NBA. And then there’s The Basketball League (TBL), America’s newest professional basketball league. One of its teams, the Dallas Skyline, is breaking barriers that have never been broken at the pro level before.

Angela Weathers is the first female head coach of a men’s professional team. 

“To be the first one to do it, I’m honored because everything I do I know is not predicated upon self. Literally it’s for other women. It’s for some young girl. It’s for some young woman who is aspiring to get into this level of the game,” said Weathers.

As a standout at Ole Miss and Northwestern State, a pro in the WNBA, and a 15-year stint as a trainer and coach, her resume speaks for itself. Weathers, however, wasn’t the club’s first pick when the job opened up.

“I actually reached out to coach Angela to see if she had any references,” said Dallas Skyline owner Prescott Mack. “She said, ‘Yeah, let me make some calls.’ And the next call she makes is to me. She was like, ‘Well, why don’t you consider me?’ And I was like that’s a no-brainer.”

On the court, players quickly learned she’s a perfect fit for the team and their own development. 

“My ultimate goal is to make it to the NBA,” said Skyline forward Tim Lott. “[Weathers] is detail oriented. She knows the game of basketball, she’s going to push every ounce out of you to greatness. She’s real tough, real tough.”

She’s a tough coach, but treats her players like family. Even if they literally are family. Her son Malachi is one of the Skyline’s guards. But having mom on the court is nothing new for the two-year veteran.

“To me, I feel like women can do just as good or even better than men. Period,” said Malachi. “That’s with basketball, that’s with business – it’s hand-in-hand. You can always learn something."

The TBL season opener is set to tip off in April. When Weathers huddles her team for the first time in a game setting and sees nothing but men staring back into her eyes, it won’t be an unfamiliar feeling.