Entertainment
Geno Auriemma Apologizes to S.C. Staff Amid Dawn Staley Drama
UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma has issued an apology following a Final Four matchup against the University of South Carolina — but did not directly apologize to South Carolina coach Dawn Staley.
“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina,” Auriemma said in a Saturday, April 4 statement shared via X. “It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut.
He continued, “I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I don’t want my actions to detract from that. I’ve had a great relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them.”
After South Carolina defeated UConn, 62-48, in the Friday, April 3, Final Four game — ending UConn’s undefeated season — Auriemma approached Staley on the sideline and started talking to her in what originally seemed like the typical postgame interaction between coaches.
The NCAA women’s basketball Final Four game between the UConn Huskies and the South Carolina Gamecocks exploded into a fiery postgame moment when the two coaches met to shake hands after the game. UConn coach Geno Auriemma approached South Carolina coach Dawn Staley after the Gamecocks took down the Huskies, 62-48, on Friday, April 3, […]
The discussion quickly went south, as Auriemma, 72, seemed to say something that upset Staley, 55. She responded accordingly, and the two legendary coaches had to be separated and guided back to their respective locker rooms.
“I will beat Geno’s a**,” Staley allegedly said after the incident, according to a video on social media.
Auriemma’s apology on Saturday notably did not include a direct mention of Staley, but rather the South Carolina “staff and the team.”
Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma exchange words after the Final Four of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Christian Petersen/Getty Images
The 12-time NCAA champion claimed the interaction stemmed from a pregame moment, where he suggested that Staley did not participate in the traditional pregame handshake. Videos from before the game did, however, show the two shaking hands on the sideline.
In his postgame comments, Auriemma added that he and Staley “don’t have a lot in common,” but did credit Staley for building South Carolina into a women’s basketball powerhouse, saying that he has a “tremendous amount of respect” for Staley.
After his team’s stunning comeback NCAA March Madness victory over Duke in the tournament’s Elite 8, UConn basketball coach Dan Hurley needed some time alone. “I was able to go into the bathroom stall and say my ‘Hail Mary’ and say my ‘Our Father,’ and thank the Lord for blessing us with this victory,” Hurley, […]
His frustrations were seemingly building throughout the game, blowing over in a sideline interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the third quarter.
“They’ve been beating the s*** out of our guys down there the entire game,” Auriemma said. “I’m not making excuses, because we haven’t been able to make a shot. But this is ridiculous.”
Staley, in her postgame press conference, refused to comment on the incident with Auriemma.
“You can ask Geno the question,” Staley said. “He’s the one that initiated the conversation. I don’t want what happened there to dampen what we were able to accomplish today.”
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