UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma may have issued a public apology after his tense sideline clash with South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley on Friday, but it doesn’t appear he has personally reached out to her, despite what ESPN reported on Sunday.
In the 62-48 loss that ended UConn’s season, Auriemma took aim at the officiating and even called out Staley during a TV interview with ESPN reporter Holly Rowe.
“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 exchange, something he later implied stemmed from Staley allegedly not meeting him at midcourt for the customary pregame handshake.
“For 41 years I’ve been coaching and, I don’t know, 25 Final Fours. The protocol is before the game you meet at half court. Anybody see that before? Two coaches meet at half court and they shake hands, correct? You ever see it? They announced it on the loud speaker,” Auriemma said. “I waited there for like three minutes. So it is what it is.”
Speaking after the game, Auriemma initially stood firm, indicating he didn’t plan to apologize for his in-game remarks to Rowe. Still, UConn later released a formal statement from him expressing regret.
“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.”
Even so, there’s still uncertainty about whether that apology was ever delivered directly to Staley.
During Sunday night’s national championship broadcast, ESPN analyst and former UConn standout Rebecca Lobo stated that Auriemma had personally contacted Staley to apologize.
“Geno Auriemma was certainly wrong in that moment, which he acknowledged in that apology yesterday,” Lobo said via USA Today. “I know he has also since reached out personally to Dawn to apologize. It’s unfortunate that it happened.”
However, Staley offered a different account after the game, saying she has yet to hear from him.
“That’s a Geno question … I have not heard from Geno,” Staley told reporters. “… I don’t know if he text or not, but … it’s UCLA’s day, right? Let’s keep (the conversation) UCLA, them winning the national championship. I will address all of that at another time.”
Needless to say, this led to a lot of reactions from fans.
“The fact that we are STILL talking about this after a program just won its first national title is one of the many reasons why Geno Auriemma deserves every bit of criticism he’s getting. Him throwing a tantrum like a child should not be taking the spotlight away from UCLA,” one fan wrote in a post on X.
“I’m not even a huge Dawn fan but this is exactly how you act ( with class) in a loss. You don’t act like a narcissistic [expletive] like Geno did and I don’t think Dawn has to listen to anything he says after what happened,” someone else added.
“That’s how you do it Dawn! This is ucla time to shine, not Geno! Keep the spot light on the Champs. They won and deserve it,” another person added.
“I KNEW Lobo was playing personal publicist for Geno claiming he personally reached out. Especially when UCONN didn’t bother to include Dawn’s name in “his” statement. I’m glad Coach Staley pivoted to congratulate UCLA. Tired of his temper tantrum diverting attention,” someone else added.
“Rebecca Lobo on air ccappin for her coach. Wack move,” another fan added.
It’s also worth noting that Staley mentioned receiving more than 800 text messages after the game, so it remains possible that Auriemma did try to contact her and she simply hasn’t seen it yet.
About Dave Kelsey
Bets on sports stuff.