Geno Auriemma releases new statement, reflects on postgame outburst toward Dawn Staley: 'I lost myself'

Geno Auriemma issued another statement about his postgame blowup that dominated headlines following UConn’s Final Four defeat to South Carolina this past Friday.

Three days after his first statement, Auriemma expressed more of his apologetic thoughts, this time addressing Dawn Staley by name and with a deeper level of introspection.

Auriemma and Staley, who have won a combined 15 national championships as head coaches, both said Tuesday that they've spoken about the confrontation and have agreed to move on.

Hours after Staley wrote in her statement that she has “a great deal of respect” for Auriemma and that one moment “doesn’t change the impact he’s had on growing women’s basketball,” Auriemma released a statement with similar sincerity.

“This morning, Dawn Staley and I spoke about our interaction after the game last Friday,” Auriemma wrote in Tuesday’s statement. “I apologized to Dawn, her staff and her team. I’ve lost more games in the Final Four than any coach in history. But Friday I lost something more important.

“I lost myself.”

Auriemma continued: “Those who know me know I have nothing but respect and admiration for the game and the coaches who coach it. Dawn and her team deserved to win, and they deserved better from me. Women’s basketball deserved better.”

With suffocating defense, South Carolina spoiled UConn’s potential perfect season in a national semifinal showdown that pit two of the sport’s dynastic programs against each other in a rematch from last year’s national title game.

The Gamecocks, however, ran out of gas two days later, falling by 28 points to UCLA in the NCAA championship on Sunday.

Leading up to the title game, Staley faced questions about Auriemma, who voiced frustration about Staley not showing up for a specific pregame handshake and the way she reprimanded officials during a physical game that featured a foul disparity.

Auriemma’s emotions started to unravel ahead of fourth quarter in an interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe. After South Carolina pulled away in the final frame, Auriemma approached Staley on the sideline with less than a second left on the clock.

Auriemma initiated a fracas that had to be split up. After the final buzzer, he walked off the court alone and then doubled down on his grievances postgame.

The next day, in his first statement, he changed his tune, writing that “there’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game.” Auriemma took his apology further on Tuesday, and he and Staley are now leaving the heated exchange in the past.