Geno Auriemma's latest meltdown involving South Carolina's Dawn Staley comes with a warning sign for his legacy
If this is what it's going to look like as Auriemma ages into his mid-70s — embittered, petty and aggressive toward a rival coach, not to mention one of the most respected women in sports — it is not a spiral that should be playing out in public.
Woody Hayes was 64 years old when he punched Clemson’s Charlie Bauman in the throat after an interception in the 1978 Gator Bowl, a moment of college sports infamy that has stood the test of time as the pinnacle of embarrassing behavior by a legendary coach. As 72-year-old Geno Auriemma charged into his Final Four postgame handshake with Dawn Staley on Friday night, hopped up on grievance and delusion, we should all be thankful his staff had the wherewithal to hold him back from an even uglier escalation. How close were we to a Hayes-esque moment that would have ruined the legacy of a 12-time national championship coach?
It’s a blessing for women’s basketball and college sports in general that we will never know the answer. But what happened in the wake of UConn’s 62-48 loss to South Carolina , ending their perfect season, needs to be a wake-up call to everyone who cares about Auriemma and a UConn administration that has become far too tolerant of boorish sideline behavior with both of its basketball coaches . If this is what it’s going to look like as Auriemma ages into his mid-70s — embittered, petty and aggressive toward a rival coach, not to mention one of the most respected women in sports — it is not a spiral that should be playing out in public.
Hopefully Auriemma has enough people who care in his orbit to tell him the truth: If what happened Friday night is where he’s at in the latter stages of his career, if that’s how he’s going to handle losing after 1,288 wins, it is time to think seriously about ceding the stage. That can’t happen again. And yet, as Auriemma did rounds of interviews after the incident, his defiance, petulance and inability to own up a truly disgraceful moment, is worrisome .
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley and UConn coach Geno Auriemma argue after the Gamecocks beat the Huskies. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri) ASSOCIATED PRESS Will anyone at UConn be willing and able to sit Auriemma down and make that clear? Or will they just stand by and wait for the next Final Four game that goes sideways, cross their fingers and hope their legendary basketball coach doesn’t trip a wire that makes them wish they had acted sooner the way so many around Hayes eventually admitted?
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