Has he always been like this? At least, that’s what this WNBA star seems to think. It’s been days since the drama between Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley unfolded, but the noise around it won’t die down as players and critics continue to weigh in with their opinions. Now, adding her name to the list, Candace Parker has stepped in with a take that’s only adding more fuel to the debate.
On a recent episode of Post Moves, Parker didn’t hold back when she was talking about coach Auriemma as a person. In her eyes, respect seems to come easy for the UConn Huskies head coach, just not when he’s losing.
“The thing that is glaring to me, Aliyah, and this is what has gone on and on in my mind, is – this is what I think it is summed up because we’ve had different reactions to this,” she said. “When he’s whooping your a**, and you are not a threat, there’s grace. But every person that has won against him or challenged him, this is kind of what their relationship is. He don’t like Dawn. Dawn don’t like him; they might respect each other, but they don’t like… (Pat Summitt) damn sure didn’t like him, and that’s part of the reason why I don’t.”
“It’s one of those things where it’s like a lot of people can be gracious when they’re on top, and when you know that somebody is not a threat… And my thing is, Coach Summitt is one of the most respectable people you will ever meet in your life, and she did not mess with (Geno Auriemma). And so, therefore, it’s – I don’t know, I think that there are different ways that you can do things – obviously super successful.”
Candace Parker on Geno Auriemma’s behavior post-loss vs SC:
“When he’s whooping your ass and you are not a threat, there’s grace. Every person that has won against him or challenged him… This is what their relationship is.”
Dawn, Pat Summit, Arike, Caitlin…
History tracks. pic.twitter.com/72FLyKFQ3M— allison (@_girltalk) April 8, 2026
“I’m not trying to pile on, but I think people are acting so surprised by this, like this hasn’t always been the case. So that’s all I gotta say is, it’s easy to respect people when you’re whooping their a**, standing at halfcourt after you win by 30. But it is hard when you’re losing to shake hands and to be respectful for the game, so it is what it is,” Parker further added.
In the Final Four matchup between the Huskies and the South Carolina Gamecocks, Staley’s squad left no doubt in the final seconds of the game about who was taking the win home. However, with just 0.1 seconds left on the clock, Auriemma approached Staley, and things quickly escalated into a verbal exchange, and staff members had to step in before it went any further.
The moment instantly went viral. And while not everyone viewed it as something deeper, context on why what happened – happened will help.
During the game, Geno Auriemma was vocal with his frustration over the officiating and the overly physical play from Staley’s team. But what sparked this fire happened even before the game began, as he later revealed that Staley kept him waiting for the pregame handshake, when the protocol had always been to meet at half court beforehand.
Apologies, perspective, and moving forward
While the moment lingered online, both programs eventually chose to address it head-on once the season was over.
After the Gamecocks’ national championship loss to the UCLA Bruins, Staley made it clear that she wasn’t interested in extending the fallout.
“I have a great deal of respect for him and what he’s meant to this game,” she said. “One moment doesn’t define a career.”
Meanwhile, Auriemma echoed that same sentiment and took accountability for his actions.
“I apologized to Dawn, her staff, and her team,” he admitted. “I’ve lost more games in the Final Four than any coach in history. But Friday, I lost something more important. I lost myself.”
However, even though both sides agreed to move on, it’s worth noting that Parker’s stance also isn’t coming out of nowhere. Because her history with Geno Auriemma adds another layer to how she sees moments like this.
Why Candace Parker Wasn’t Surprised by Geno Auriemma’s Actions?
In 2016, at the peak of her career, Parker was shockingly left off the U.S. Olympic roster for Rio. That omission raised eyebrows across the basketball world because Parker was coming off elite-level production and had already helped Team USA secure gold medals in 2008 and 2012. Yet, when the roster was announced, her name was nowhere to be found.
While Auriemma denied having a direct role in the decision, Parker never fully bought into that explanation. Why? Because the optics told a different story. Multiple players on that roster had direct ties to him through UConn, while she found herself on the outside looking in.
“As soon as he was named the coach again, I was like, ‘Ah, well, this is gonna be interesting,’” she said in a 2024 interview. “He doesn’t like me. I don’t like him. We don’t like each other.”
And the ripple effects of that snub lasted well beyond 2016.
When Dawn Staley took over as Team USA head coach in 2017, there was an opportunity for Parker to return to the team. But she chose to step away, admitting that mentally, she couldn’t bring herself to represent USA Basketball again.
So when Parker now weighs in on Auriemma’s courtside clash with Staley and calls it a pattern, it doesn’t come off as a hot take. In her eyes, this isn’t a one-off moment; it’s consistent with the way certain rivalries around Geno Auriemma have unfolded, especially when the power dynamic shifts.
