Geno Auriemma apologizes for emotional outburst toward Dawn Staley: ‘There’s no excuse’
PHOENIX — UConn coach Geno Auriemma apologized Saturday afternoon, about 15 hours after his emotional outburst toward South Carolina coach Dawn Staley at the end of the Huskies’ 62-48 loss to the Gamecocks in the Final Four. Auriemma got into a brief shouting match with Staley in the final seconds and left the court without participating in the postgame handshake line.
Auriemma released a statement apologizing for his behavior but did not mention Staley by name.
“There’s no excuse for the way I handled the end of the South Carolina game. It’s not like what I do and our standards here at Connecticut,” Auriemma said. “I want to apologize to the South Carolina staff and team. My reaction was inappropriate. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I don’t want my actions to take away from that. I have had a great relationship with their staff and I sincerely want to apologize to them.”
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After the game, Auriemma claimed that Staley left him waiting for a customary pregame handshake “for about three minutes” and that he was concerned there was a “double standard” that allowed Staley more leniency in berating officials than he was getting.
Staley told reporters that questions about the incident should be directed to Auriemma.
“You can ask Geno. He’s the one who started the conversation,” Staley said. “I don’t want what happened there to detract from what we were able to accomplish today.”
In an in-game interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the third quarter, Auriemma complained about the foul discrepancy and said Staley was “ranting and raving on the sideline and calling the refs names you don’t want to hear.”
“There were six fouls called in that quarter, all against us. And they beat our guys there the whole game. And I’m not making excuses because we didn’t make shots, but it’s ridiculous,” Auriemma said. “Their coach raves and raves on the sidelines and insults the refs with names you don’t want to hear. And now we’re down six to zero and I have a kid with a torn jersey, and they’re like, ‘I didn’t see it.’ Come on man. It’s for the national championship.”
When asked during the press conference if he regretted his interview with Rowe, Auriemma said he did not.
“I have no regrets about what I said to Holly Rowe,” he said. “Why would I?”
Staley declined to comment Saturday when asked if Auriemma had contacted her or if she had a response to her apology.
“No distractions for me right now,” Staley said. “Focus on winning the national championship. That’s it.”
Staley admitted it was “a little disheartening” that the incident took attention away from his team and its accomplishments.
“Yeah, it’s a little discouraging. At the same time, it’s sport. Sometimes things like that happen,” Staley said. “That’s why I’m going to continue to focus on our team and its ability to advance in this tournament and hopefully win another national championship.”
With the win against UConn, South Carolina advanced to play UCLA in Sunday’s national championship game. This is the Gamecocks’ third straight appearance in the national championship game and they are seeking their fourth title under Staley.
