UConn's Geno Auriemma apologizes for emotional outburst toward Dawn Staley: 'There's no excuse'
Auriemma got into a brief shouting match with Staley in the final seconds and left the court without shaking hands
PHOENIX -- UConn coach Geno Auriemma issued an apology on 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 how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina. It's unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut," Auriemma said. "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 the game, Auriemma claimed Staley left him waiting for a customary pre-game handshake "for like three minutes" and that he was concerned that there was a "double standard" that permitted Staley more leniency to berate officials than he gets.
Geno Auriemma exchanged words with Dawn Staley in the final seconds of South Carolina and UConn’s Final Four matchup. pic.twitter.com/S6anlPKqwe
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Staley told reporters that questions about the incident should be directed toward Auriemma.
"You can ask Geno the question. He's the one that initiated the conversation," Staley said. "I don't want what happened there to dampen what we were able to accomplish today."
In an in-game interview with Holly Rowe of ESPN after the third quarter, Auriemma complained about the foul discrepancy and said Staley "rants and raves on the sideline and calls the referees some names you don't want to hear."
"There were six fouls called that quarter -- all of them against us. And they've been beating the shit out of our guys down there the entire game. And I'm not making excuses because we haven't been able to make a shot, but this is ridiculous," Auriemma said. "Their coach rants and raves on the sideline and calls the referees some names you don't want to hear. And now we get six to zero and I've got a kid with a ripped jersey, and they go, 'I didn't see it.' C'mon man. This is for the national championship."
When asked during the press conference whether he regretted his interview with Rowe, Auriemma said he did not.
"I don't have any regrets about what I said to Holly Rowe," he said. "Why would I?"
Staley declined to comment Saturday when asked if Auriemma had reached out to her or if she had a response to his apology.
"No distractions for me at this time," Staley said. "Concentrating on winning the national championship. That's it."
Staley did concede that it was "a little disheartening" that this incident has taken the attention away from her team and its accomplishments.
"Yeah, that's a little disheartening. At the same time, this is sports. Sometimes things like this happen," Staley said. "That's why I'm just going to continue to focus on our team and their ability to advance in this tournament and hopefully win another national championship."
With the win over UConn, South Carolina advanced to face UCLA in Sunday's national championship game. This is the Gamecocks' third consecutive appearance in the national championship game, and they are seeking their fourth title under Staley.
