Auriemma says critics were ‘lying in weeds waiting’ in runup to Staley confrontation at Final Four

UConn coach attracted widespread criticism for actions Auriemma says he felt ‘dumb’ after altercation Six weeks after his team lost to South Carolina in the Final Four, UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma said on Monday that he felt “dumb” for how his postgame exchange with Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley played out in front of a national audience. “When I walked into the locker room afterward with the coaches, you are just shaking your head, thinking five more seconds, you couldn’t keep it in for five more seconds,” Auriemma said in his first news conference since then. Continue reading...

Associated Press · Tue, May 5, 2026, 4:53 AM
US news | The Guardian

Auriemma says critics were ‘lying in weeds waiting’ in runup to Staley confrontation at Final Four

UConn coach attracted widespread criticism for actions
Auriemma says he felt ‘dumb’ after altercation

Six weeks after his team lost to South Carolina in the Final Four, UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma said on Monday that he felt “dumb” for how his postgame exchange with Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley played out in front of a national audience.

“When I walked into the locker room afterward with the coaches, you are just shaking your head, thinking five more seconds, you couldn’t keep it in for five more seconds,” Auriemma said in his first news conference since then.

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