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Dawn Staley criticizes ESPN’s headline of pregame coverage for UConn-South Carolina
By Paul Harvey
Published:
South Carolina saw its quest for history and a 2nd straight national title fall short on Sunday with a blowout loss to UConn, and Dawn Staley’s comments about the coverage of that matchup have been revisited since the defeat.
On Saturday, Staley held her press conference for the game, and the head coach for South Carolina was asked about Paige Bueckers’s career, one that has been plagued by injuries. The question centered around what Bueckers has meant for women’s college basketball and how a title would impact her legacy, prompting Staley to indicate she would “tread lightly” in her response.
In that response, Staley was critical about the narratives created for certain players, including former Iowa star Caitlin Clark, in these kinds of environments. Staley praised Bueckers for her skill set but also claimed the narrative pushed for certain players puts South Carolina “at a disadvantage.”
“Sometimes we create these narratives about great players — Caitlin was one of them; Paige is one of them right now — and we tend to forget the narrative about what our kids have been able to do, going for their third in four years,” began Staley. “There’s a sentimental narrative about Paige. A great freakin’ player. Anybody would start their franchise with Paige because of her efficient way of playing, because she’s a winner. Because she cerebrally just knows the game.
“She’ll be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, she’ll be an Olympian, she’ll be all those things. But when you put a narrative out there, everybody sees that, and it puts us at a disadvantage, whether you want to believe so or not. Officials see it. It’s all over TikTok. It’s all over ‘SportsCenter.’ It’s all over all of that. She’s a great player, but just because you’re a great player means you need a national championship to legitimize it. Paige is legit… her career is legendary. She will leave a legacy at UConn, whether she wins one or not.”
Staley felt that was something that needed to be addressed ahead of the game, describing what she believes to be unequal coverage for her program at the expense of other players.
“I just want to put it out there. I can’t not address it because it’s happening. It happened to us last year. Everything was about Caitlin Clark and her legacy and her ability to win a national championship. Yet we were coming into this thing undefeated, doing something that’s unprecedented at the time,” Staley emphasized. “It’s hard, and we find ourselves back here in a similar situation. I want the sentiments to be about our players and what our players have been able to do, equally.”
Here’s Staley’s full response from Saturday:
To little surprise, ESPN ran a story on Staley’s press conference. However, the head coach took exception to the way her words were framed in that story, describing ESPN’s headline as “lies” on social media.
Ultimately, UConn had the last word on the court, steamrolling the Gamecocks with an 82-59 win on Sunday. However, we’ll see down the road if Staley’s words influence the coverage of South Carolina — and others — in these big moments.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
