On Tuesday, Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk alleged that fans of South Carolina womens basketball showered Missouri players with spit and racial epithets following their 64-54 Sunday loss to the Gamecocks. The game was hotly contested, so much so that two players were ejected following a bench-clearing fracas.
South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn called the allegations “serious and false” at a news conference Wednesday.
Dawn Staley Addresses Missouri AD Jim Sterk’s Comments – 1/31/18
Uploaded by South Carolina Gamecocks on 2018-01-31.
“Did I lose a little sleep last night? Yes, obviously,” Staley told reporters. “(The allegations are) going to be handled, but not right here, and not in the manner in which they were dealt. That’s all I’m going to say about that.”
Sterk also described the atmosphere as unhealthy.
“I mean, it was not a good environment and unfortunately I think Coach Staley promoted that kind of atmosphere,” Sterk said in the interview. “It’s unfortunate that she felt she had to do that.”
In a more direct response to Sterk’s comments, Staley vehemently stood behind the Gamecocks’ fanbase.
If I could uproot my fans and place them in any other arena, that coach would be tremendously proud, Staley said. I stand by our fans, by the way they cheer, by every single thing they bring to the arena.
