Dan Patrick Makes Opinion on Geno Auriemma–Dawn Staley Confrontation Clear

In a recent episode of his show, Patrick minced no words as he shared his thoughts on the situation. He said, “I was embarrassed for him... Act like the greatest coach in the game – nothing's given to you, you know that.”

Dawn Staley Puts Water Under the Bridge With a Championship

Dawn Staley easily could have spent Sunday talking about the confrontation with Geno Auriemma, but she made a point not to let that become the main story. Instead, Staley used most of her postgame comments to shine the spotlight on Cori Close and the historic run by UCLA Bruins women's basketball.

Staley sounded genuinely happy for Close, who finally got her first national title after years of building UCLA into a contender. She talked about how much respect she has for coaches who stay patient, keep working, and eventually see everything come together. Staley knows exactly what that process feels like because it took her a long time to win her own first championship as a head coach.

Before the game, Staley and Close shared a long embrace on the sideline and appeared to be joking around together. Afterward, Staley made it clear she thought Close was exactly the kind of person the sport should be celebrating.

When questions shifted back toward Auriemma, Staley did not seem interested in diving too deep into it. She said she had not personally seen any apology from him yet, even though there were reports that he had tried to reach out. She also joked that with hundreds of unread messages on her phone, maybe it was buried somewhere in there. More than anything, Staley seemed determined not to let the drama take away from UCLA’s moment.