It sounds like Geno Auriemma has finally apologized to Dawn Staley.
Over the weekend, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma found himself in a tense sideline clash with South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley during his team’s lopsided loss in the Final Four. After first declining to apologize and later releasing a statement that notably didn’t even mention Staley by name, he has now finally announced an apology directly to Staley.
During the 62-48 season-ending defeat, Auriemma criticized the officiating and took aim at Staley while speaking with ESPN’s Holly Rowe in a televised interview.
“There were six fouls called that quarter — all of them against us,” Auriemma told Holly Rowe on the broadcast. “And they’ve been beating the [expletive] out of our guys down there the entire game. I’m not making excuses, ’cause we haven’t been able to make a shot. But this is ridiculous.
“Their coach rants and raves on the sideline and calls the referee some names you don’t want to hear. And now we get 6 to 0, and I got a kid with a ripped jersey, and they go, ‘I didn’t see it.’ Come on, man. It’s for a national championship.”
The situation escalated late in the game when Auriemma approached Staley on the court, sparking a heated confrontation that had to be broken up before it went any further.
Although Auriemma initially refused to apologize for his antics during his postgame press conference, he eventually released a statement expressing regret over how he handled the closing moments.
“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina,” Auriemma said in the statement released by UConn. “It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut. 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.”
Still, the statement stopped short of naming Staley directly, and she shared on Sunday that she had not heard from him personally. That, however, has since changed.
On Tuesday evening, Auriemma spoke out once more, this time offering a direct apology to Staley and confirming that the two had a private conversation where they agreed to move forward.
“This morning, Dawn Staley and I spoke about our interaction after the game last Friday. I apologized to Dawn, her staff and her team. I’ve lost more games in the Final Four than any coach in history. But Friday I lost something more important. I lost myself,” Auriemma wrote in a statement.
“Those who know me know I have nothing but respect and admiration for the game and the coaches who coach it. Dawn and her team deserved to win, and they deserved better from me,” the statement continued. “Women’s basketball deserved better. My university, my athletes, my former players and our fans deserved better.”
“Dawn and I have agreed to move on, and we hope the focus will shift back to the growth in women’s basketball. The game deserves it.”
Needless to say, this led to a lot of reactions on social media.
“True Colours were shown. Sorry bc U got caught. Pattern of behavior is etched into WBB History. This is who U are, Dear Sir Auriemma. Probably realized recruits/current players Moms will be ordering players to steer clear of the Geno,” one fan wrote in a post on X.
“Honestly this is making it worse. Everyone else moved on already,” someone else added.
“This still ain’t gettin it. ‘Women’s basketball deserved better.’ NO. Dawn Staley and South Carolina deserved better. Is it that hard? Stop talking,” another person wrote.
“Man please!!! This is just damage control ordered by agent, former players, staff and university,” someone else wrote.
At this point, it’s clear both Staley and Auriemma are ready to move past the incident and turn the page.
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