Women's Fastbreak On SI

South Carolina Goes Viral for Dawn Staley Louvre Joke After Museum Heist

The South Carolina Gamecocks are making light of a criminal situation regarding one of the world's most famous museums.
Grant Young|
Apr 5, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley talks to media before practice at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Apr 5, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley talks to media before practice at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

One of the biggest world news stories this week has been that a heist occurred at the iconic Louvre Museum in Paris, France, on October 19, where the robbers stole a reporter $102 million worth of jewelry that still has not been recovered.

According to an October 22 article from CNN, "The thieves used a truck-mounted ladder to gain access to the Apollo Gallery, one of the most ornate rooms in the Louvre, through a window. Armed with tools including an angle grinder and a blowtorch, they targeted two high-security display cases. Paris prosecutors say it took the robbers four minutes to break into the gallery, snatch the jewelry, and leave."

The article also noted that among the nine pieces of stolen jewelry was a diamond and sapphire set that included a tiara and necklace, which was worn by French queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense during the 19th century. Also stolen was an emerald necklace and earrings set that was a wedding gift from French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte to his second wife, Marie-Louise of Austria, which included 1,138 diamonds.

General view of the Olympic rings outside the Louvre museum pyramid on August 10, 2024
Aug 10, 2024; Paris, France; General view of the Olympic rings outside the Louvre museum pyramid during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

South Carolina Cracks Louvre Heist Joke Regarding Dawn Staley Statue

Earlier this year, legendary South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball head coach Dawn Staley was honored with a statue outside of the Gamecocks' home arena in Columbia. They commemorated this moment with an X post of Staley standing in front of the statue with the caption, "Hang it in the Louvre ✨".

The Gamecocks women's basketball team's X account then commented on this initial post on October 22 (in the wake of the Louvre heist news) and wrote, "They have room now".

This post has gone viral, amassing over 280,000 views in about 16 hours since it was posted. While some are upset about the timing and insensitive nature of the post, most who are interacting with it have found the statue joke hilarious, which they're making clear with their comments.

"This is my kind of carrying on lmaooo, yes admin😂😭😂😭😂," one X user wrote in a reply.

"😭😂," the Gamecocks' official X account added.

Another fan said, "Y’all so petty…and I love it! #GoCocks 🐔🤙🏾".

Others are posting GIFs that suggest they're trying (and failing) to contain their laughter.

"We cannot be serious," one fan wrote along with a GIF of two women laughing hysterically.

Of course, there's a hope that the stolen jewelry will be recovered. But regardless of whether that happens, Gamecocks fans are clearly still going to find light in this situation.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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