“I Help Them Make Money”: Angel Reese & NCAA Star’s Backlash Force UConn HC To Explain Himself As Transfer Portal Drama Spirals

Tempers have been flaring in ever since UConn Huskies Head Coach Geno Auriemma addressed the media after his thumping victory over the St. John’s Red Storm. Apparently, a three-minute answer to one of the media’s questions has been grabbing unwanted attention. Later, his statement invited controversy as Mississippi State’s latest transfer Lauren Park-Lane publicly criticized his comments. In addition to this, LSU’s power forward Angel Reese came out in support of her NCAA co-star.

Consequently, it compelled UConn’s boss to clear the air and provide further elucidation.

The UConn Huskies’ boss courts controversy

On Saturday, Geno Auriemma was asked about the impact of the transfer portal and how he maintains his relationships with his players and staff. To which Geno responded, “I’m somewhat fortunate to be where I am. There aren’t a whole lot of high-level players coming to play at Connecticut and leaving for a better opportunity. It’s all transactional now … and it has nothing to do with the money. Forget the money part. This is about the opportunity that you can just walk out any time you want. How do you coach in an environment where the players feel like you owe them nothing, and they owe you everything”? Following this, Lauren Park-Lane issued a very vocal response on Twitter. She wrote, “Whewww … I still have eligibility left so imma just save my comments.” Soon after, she elaborated her thoughts further with another post captioned, “To say I left MY 4-year university for money is reckless.” 

After seeing the matter escalate, Auriemma decided to clarify his comments on Wednesday. He said, “I don’t give a damn how much money they make. I help them make money. I try to help them make as much money as they want. All I know is there was like a 10-page report from the NCAA that described to us all of the things that the athletes are going to get when they come to college and I was just looking for someplace in one of those 10 pages to say, and by the way, the players’ responsibility is this.”

Read More: UConn Coach Disses Freshman While Airing Paige Bueckers, Aaliyah Edwards

The All-American forward Angel Reese became the latest prominent figure to be involved in this Transfer Portal Drama.

Angel Reese weighs in

The charismatic No.10 of the LSU Tigers wasted no time in extending her support to Lauren Park-Lane. She responded to her post with some thoughts of her own. Angel wrote, “Been that girl, forever that girl & always will be that girl. I remember jokingly asking you to come play with me at UMD and you always told me you loved Seton Hall and wanted to graduate there! keep being you CHEATCODE!”

Hopefully, things will settle down soon between everyone. As Auriemma still stands with his statements, Reese and Lauren Park-Lane also don’t seem to back down either. It will be interesting to see how much the drama will extend in the upcoming days.

Do you agree with Geno’s comments? Let us know in the comments section.

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