Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association commissioner Jacqie McWilliams Parker responded to Geno Auriemma's behavior toward Dawn Staley at the end of Friday's Final Four matchup.
South Carolina ended UConn's undefeated season with a 62-48 national semifinal victory. An incensed Auriemma exchanged words with Staley at the end of the game, leading to an intense shouting match between the two decorated women's basketball head coaches.
Auriemma has received significant criticism for the incident, including a post-game admission that he doesn't have any personal relationship with Staley because they "don't have a lot in common." McWilliams Parker, the commissioner of the Division II conference, whose members are exclusively HBCUs, shared her perspective on the situation on Facebook.
"I am totally disappointed, not surprised, and triggered by the continued disrespect of Black women on and off the court," McWilliams Parker wrote on Sunday. "Please we have more (in) common than you want to believe! Stop being insecure! Take your losses and celebrate someone else’s win. You coach black women and now they get to see how you treat them when it does not go your way!"
"Please don't make excuses for him"
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Auriemma didn't show any contrition during his post-game press conference. The 12-time national champion questioned a "double standard" in Staley's sideline interactions with officials, claiming he doesn't want a scenario where "some people are allowed to talk to officials like that and other people are not."
McWilliams Parker didn't appreciate Auriemma's response.
"Please don’t make excuses for him," McWilliams Parker added. "This is mine and many others lived experience every day as a woman of color. I hated to see it and to hear him speak about it with no remorse or empathy."
UConn released an apology from Auriemma on Saturday.
"There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina," Auriemma said. "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."
