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ESPN pundit Michael Wilbon teed off on UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma on Monday, following the coach’s outburst toward South Carolina’s Dawn Staley on Friday night.
Auriemma was seemingly frustrated with Staley’s lack of a traditional handshake before UConn and South Carolina played their Final Four game. South Carolina would eventually win the matchup, but Auriemma and Staley had a heated exchange at the end of the game as they went up to greet each other once the game was over.
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South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley and UConn head coach Geno Auriemma argue after a women’s NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four in Phoenix on April 3, 2026. (Rick Scuteri/AP)
The UConn coach also complained at halftime that Sarah Strong didn’t get a foul call despite her jersey getting ripped. Strong later said she accidentally ripped her own jersey.
Wilbon didn’t mince words in his criticism of Auriemma on ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption.”
“I’m going to take the rest of the time to deal with Geno, who was guilty of not just the handshake but the bogus apology and the fictional lies he had a ripped jersey, saying the other team behaved like thugs when his own player ripped her own jersey It’s the disgraceful behavior of a massively insecure bully,” he said, via Awful Announcing. “It was petulant, it was classless.”
“The fictional visualization of the ripped jersey is unbelievable. The apology didn’t even address the person he offended. We’re all taught to shake hands at the end of a game, no matter what happens. Maybe before a game. He couldn’t even do that. He wandered away and then he lied on national television, round after round of interviews, and accused South Carolina’s players of doing something his own players did as if we don’t all have television. And the apology, aftermath, all of it was disgraceful.”
Auriemma released a statement on the issue, apologizing for his own behavior.
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley and UConn head coach Geno Auriemma argue after a women’s NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four in Phoenix on April 3, 2026. (Rick Scuteri/AP)
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“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina,” Auriemma said in a statement posted to social media. “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.”
Staley took the high road when asked about the incident after the team lost to the UCLA Bruins in the national championship.
“I don’t want – this is UCLA’s day, right? Let’s keep it UCLA, them winning the national championship,” Staley told reporters, via The Athletic. “… We’re not going to damper UCLA’s day with it.”
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley speaks during a news conference at the NCAA college basketball tournament Final Four in Phoenix on April 4, 2026. (John Locher/AP)
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Staley has yet to fully address the incident and what she yelled back at Auriemma during their exchange.
Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
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