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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 against South Carolina’s Dawn Staley on Friday night.
Auriemma was apparently frustrated by Staley’s lack of a traditional handshake before UConn and South Carolina played their Final Four matchup. South Carolina would eventually win the game, but Auriemma and Staley had a heated exchange at the end of the game when they went up to greet each other when the game was over.
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South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley and UConn head coach Geno Auriemma argue after an NCAA women’s 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 bad call despite her jersey being ripped. Strong later said she accidentally tore her own jersey.
Wilbon didn’t mince words in his criticism of Auriemma on ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption.”
“I’ll spend the rest of the time dealing with Geno, who was guilty of not just the handshake, but the bogus apology and the fictitious lies he had a ripped jersey and said the other team was acting like a bully when his own player ripped her own jersey. That’s the disgraceful behavior of a bully,” he said via a violently insecure. “It was annoying, it was classless.”
“The fictional visualization of the torn jersey is incredible. 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 off, and then he lied on national television, did stuff with his players, round after round of South Carolina players and interviews with his own players. As if we don’t all have televisions. And the apology, the aftermath, it was all disgraceful.”
Auriemma released a statement on the issue and apologized for his own behavior.
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley and UConn head coach Geno Auriemma argue after an NCAA women’s college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four in Phoenix on April 3, 2026. (Rick Scuteri/AP)
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“There is 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 contrary to what I do and what our standard is here in Connecticut.
“I want to apologize to the South Carolina staff and team. 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 good relationship with their staff and I sincerely 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 to — it’s UCLA’s day, right? Let’s keep it UCLA, they win the national championship,” Staley told reporters, via The Athletic . “… We’re not going to dampen UCLA’s day with that.”
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.
