Legendary South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley has proven many times how ride-or-die she is when it comes to her players, and she subtly came to one of her former athlete’s defense after UConn boss Geno Auriemma shared some choice words.

During the Huskies’ national title celebration on April 7, Auriemma was telling a story about his championship-winning players’ experiences in Connecticut while slyly making a comparison to the Gamecocks, who they’d blown out for the win just days before.

“Most other places, if you win one national championship, they build a statue to you outside the building,” Auriemma stated during the rally. “Here, they won't even let you get to the front of the bus.”

In her own classy way, Staley handled the situation while the city honored her with her own statue. Without directly naming Auriemma, she stood up for Wilson and the school.

“I'll admit, I wanted [A'ja Wilson's] to be the only [South Carolina statue] ever. I really did,” Staley said during her speech. “Contrary to the belief of one of my coaching colleagues, her statue wasn't in response to winning a national championship. It was in response to being a winner at life,” the coach fired back.

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“It's a tribute to a hometown hero, a symbol for what is possible for the youth of Columbia when passion meets preparedness.”

Auriemma was referring to the statue of WNBA superstar Wilson outside of the Colonial Life Arena, which was put up after the program claimed a national championship during her senior year in 2017-18. South Carolina fans did not respond to his takes well, believing that they were shady and backhanded.

“And somehow I thought Geno was too old for throwing shade,” one Gamecocks fan posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Now when Dawn doesn’t take the high road next season I don’t wanna hear nobody talking crazy,” another said under the video of Auriemma’s speech.

As a reflection of how much the local community in South Carolina cherishes Staley, the university and fans have deemed May “Dawn Staley Month” to keep the celebrations going for their favorite coach.