If there is one group of individuals that have been getting some extra ‘hate’ during the ongoing March Madness series, it is the NCAA officials. UConn Huskies men’s basketball head coach Dan Hurley famously left the arena after his team got eliminated by yelling, “I hope they don’t f— you like they f—-d us” to Baylor players. Every other game since has had fans’ distaste echoing loud. And the highly anticipated UConn-Gamecocks game? It was no different. Dawn Staley was ensuring it wasn’t just the audience voicing the concern this time.

During the NCAA championship game of the women’s division, as the camera panned courtside, Staley was seen arguing with a referee. After she received a response from the official, the Gamecocks’ head coach immediately backed away in frustration, with her right hand raised. Yikes!

The incident occurred sometime after forward Joyce Edwards was called for a foul during the national championship game. UConn star Paige Bueckers had the ball and pulled up for a shot near the elbow as the Huskies led 23-18 with 7:17 left in the second quarter. Edwards went to contest Bueckers’ shot and was called for a foul that left Staley quite upset. The coach was certainly not pleased when four fouls were called on Edwards, benching her soon after.

Dawn Staley was visibly upset throughout the matchup. As the game continued, social media was filled with clips of the 54-year-old coach sitting on the bench in despair. She was yelling out what was presumed to be curse words, and was just downright downcast. Social media users certainly had their fun with the moment. People used memes of Shaquille O’Neal and Walter White from ‘Breaking Bad’ to poke fun at the coach’s expense. In the end, Staley’s mood could not be saved. Not only did the South Carolina Gamecocks lose, the squad lost by a score of 82-59, aka a 23-point margin!

The championship game was set to be a legacy-defining moment for the Gamecocks and Dawn Staley. The coach had already won three national championships in her career. If the recent game was won, Staley would have secured her 2nd NCAA title in a row. 3rd in the last four years. She would have been one out of only four women’s college basketball coaches with at least four national titles. A part of the elite list that contains the names of only Geno Auriemma, Pat Summitt and Kim Mulkey. Having come so far only to lose all hope even before the game ended would have made anyone frustrated. While Staley was certainly upset with the officials over Edwards being fouled and benched, the Gamecocks squad shooting 21-61 (34.4%) field goals in comparison to UConn’s 30-62 (48.4%) field goals only increased that agitation.

In light of everything that happened, Dawn Staley’s reaction at the referees could somehow be considered ‘justified’, even though anger should never be the solution. At the same time, Staley’s reaction would have surprised many. After all, her behaviour was a 360 degree turn from how the coach treated the officials more than a week ago.

Dawn Staley defended NCAA officials after Gamecocks-Maryland Terrapins matchup: “They’ve got a really hard job”

The South Carolina Gamecocks got to the championship game after defeating several teams during the March Madness series. This included winning over the Maryland Terrapins during the ‘Sweet 16’ stage. Once again, rumors of biased officiating were put out by a few people. Examples included the disparity in foul calls during the game’s 2nd half. During the post-game press conference, one reporter asked about the ‘animated’ conversations Staley was seen having with some of the referee officials. To her credit, the coach did not choose to bad-mouth the officials.

“The officials have a hard job,” said Staley. “They’ve got a really hard job. I don’t even have thick enough skin to do their job. The animation (you saw) was probably more we had a jokingly conversation rather than really a heated conversation. They’re really good at just communicating out there on the floor. And that’s why … they’re officiating in the Sweet 16 and probably some of them on their way to the Final 4s because they’re able to handle those types of situations, communicate with the coaches in a way that just really de-escalates the situation.”

The Terrapins reportedly shot 16 free throws in the first half, but the number went down to just 2 in the second half. Early in the 4th quarter, MiLaysia Fulwiley scored a layup, then caught an elbow from a Maryland player. After three minutes, the refs didn’t call a foul. When the buzzer initially hit 0.0, one ref raised her fist and signaled a foul on Fulwiley with .4 seconds left. Therefore, both Maryland and South Carolina faced moments of despair. Despite this, the win was hers, and Dawn Staley was willing to accept the calls.

Flash-forward to now, and how the turntables. Whether Staley will choose to address the officiating during a post-game presser remains to be seen.