The star athlete began coaching at the Middlesex School before moving to the collegiate level with a job at Simmons College. This season will mark her ninth coaching Harvard men, something that often prompts questions from reporters and others.
“You never hear a male who’s coaching women get asked the questions I get asked about coaching men,” she said. “It’s a double standard out there.”
And yet part of the reason Muri is asked so many questions is because she seems to be such an outlier. While men who coach women’s teams are fairly common, one hardly ever hears about the roles being reversed.
Yet there is hope that Muri’s success may change perceptions. Perhaps in the future, one will see more men’s sports teams following the lead of the Crimson lightweights and hiring women as coaches.
“I think all sports are suffering because we’re missing 50 percent of the population [in the coaching pool],” she said. “I’d like to see that change. And I think all sports would improve to see more women coaching.”
—Staff writer Christina C. McClintock can be reached at ccmcclin@fas.harvard.edu.