A shocking scene unfolded at Phoenix Arena on Friday night as South Carolina’s women’s basketball team wrapped up a 62-48 victory against UConn in the Final Four. Shortly after the final buzzer, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma dashed down the sidelines to confront South Carolina’s Dawn Staley.
The two coaches had to be separated from each other as they had a heated verbal exchange on the sidelines on live TV. At one point during the confrontation, Staley was heard saying, “I will beat Geno’s ass.”
Why did Geno Auriemma confront Dawn Staley?
As he talked about the bizarre dispute in his postgame, Auriemma raised a couple of issues. According to ESPN, the Huskies’ coach accused Staley of failing to follow the traditional handshake protocol that usually takes place before the start of the game. Auriemma, according to ESPN, said he waited for a handshake for three minutes.
“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,” Auriemma said. “Anybody see that before? Two coaches meet at half court and they shake hands, correct? … I waited there for like three minutes. So it is what it is.”
The head coach also raised his issues with the foul calls in the game.
“I’ve been coaching a long time. I’ve never had a kid have to change their jersey because somebody ripped it and the official said, ‘I didn’t see it,’” he said. “There are a lot of things that happened in that game. Unless you’re on that sideline, you have no idea what’s happening on this sideline.”
Many thought Staley took the high road as didn’t want to say much about the confrontation when she was asked to explain what happened.
“You can ask Geno the question,” she 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.”
What are the reactions to Geno Auriemma confronting Dawn Staley?
Auriemma is facing wide backlash after confronting Staley during UConn’s loss. The criticism came from fans across the country, as well as a number of high-profile analysts.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was among those who lashed out at Auriemma.
“That was some straight B.S. from the GREAT Geno Auriemma. Never — ever — thought I’d see the day when the greatest woman’s college coach in history would go down so CLASSLESSLY!!!” Smith wrote on X. “Horrible look, and should be called out for it. He got OUTCOACHED. Plain and simple. And gets in her face like she did something wrong to him instead of being gracious. Had Dawn Staley acted like that we would be all over her. #HorribleGENO!”
Former ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike also had a similar reaction. Ogwumike said Auriemma’s behavior was “extremely problematic.”
“It was a buildup of things being problematic starting with Sarah Strong,” Ogwumike said, per CT Insider. “He called out the fact that Sarah Strong’s jersey was torn but she was actually doing it self-inflicted.”
Fans also called out Auriemma for raising issues about the handshake, although video showed that the two coaches exchanged a handshake before the game.
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