WNBA legend Candace Parker chimed in on the drama surrounding UConn head coach Geno Auriemma’s fiery altercation with South Carolina coach Dawn Staley.
Parker, who was announced as a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2026 class on Saturday, was asked about Auriemma and Staley’s heated exchange following the Gamecocks’ 62-48 Final Four March Madness win over the Huskies on Friday.
“In time, you see people’s colors over and over again,” Parker said. “And there can be a separation of time with that, but the colors always come to light. I think colors were shown yesterday on both sides, right? However you want to take that.”
Parker and Auriemma have had an icy history, with seven-time All-Star admitting in a 2021 interview that the two “don’t like each other,” and said that their relationship was why she was left off of Team USA’s 2016 Olympic roster despite winning gold medals in 2008 and 2012.
Auriemma issued an apology to Staley on Saturday, calling his actions inexcusable.
“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina,” Auriemma said in a statement. “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 did not tell reporters if Auriemma had reached out to her and did not have a response to his apology, but said that the incident taking away from her players’ performances was “disheartening.”
“Yeah, that’s a little disheartening,” Staley told reporters, according to CBS Sports. “At the same time, this is sports. Sometimes things like this happen.
“That’s why I’m just going to continue to focus on our team and their ability to advance in this tournament and hopefully win another national championship.”
South Carolina is set to play UCLA in the women’s final Sunday.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
