To begin, I have been a fan of the UConn Huskies Women’s basketball team since Sue Bird was on the team. However, I am not the biggest Geno Auriemma fan in the world for possibly the same reasons why many people are not. Recently, Muffet McGraw shared some thoughts about Geno’s Huskies and possible bias.
The former Notre Dame Women’s basketball coach said this on a recent episode of the “Off the Looking Glass” podcast with Kate Fagan and Jessica Smetana:
“UConn has done great things, and they’ve won way more than anybody else, except Tennessee. What they’ve done has been amazing. I think people measure their team by them. When we joined the Big East, we were like, ‘We want to get to where they are. That’s what we want to be. We’re trying to emulate them.”
Furthermore, McGraw says that ESPN is a pro-UConn network:
“But I think it goes over the top with ESPN. That is Connecticut’s network. Notre Dame has NBC. Connecticut has ESPN. That is absolutely complete bias there.”
Where Geno Was Right
In any event, Auriemma gave his response with respect to McGraw’s comments about ESPN in a clear (and blatant) form of sarcasm:
“I do want to thank the people at ESPN for helping us win those 111 [games] in a row. If it wasn’t for them, there’s no way we could have done it.”
ESPN has shown just four of UConn’s games this season with two more to go as the network SNY (SportsNet New York) has shown a preponderance of their games. To this end, a case could be made that SNY is the true network of the Huskies.
Nevertheless, it does feel that UConn is on ESPN but schools like South Carolina and Stanford are seen on the network as well. Women’s college basketball and the talent is spreading and so is the coverage over the last 5-10 years.
As a matter of fact, schools like UConn and Tennessee, under the late legendary head coach Pat Summitt, were must-see television anytime they were on. Reading in-between lines of the satirical comment by Geno, his point is when you are winning, ESPN cannot ignore it.
Where Geno Was Wrong
In his response to McGraw’s comment of the UConn bias, Geno was being Geno:
‘I think the bias has something to do — if there is any — with the 11 national championships, which is a lot more than two. At least I remember that on ‘Sesame Street’
While the ‘Sesame Street’ line was entertaining, Geno knows better. Whether or not you agree with McGraw, she is speaking as an analyst and doing her job. As I have noted, UConn has been a success under Geno but that success comes with a target.
Now, I am not saying he should have been silent. All things considered, just address the ESPN bias comments and keep it moving.
In the final analysis, even if there is a rivalry between Geno and Muffett, their comments or responses should not be based on bias. It has to be from a place of rationality and respect. Here, I will let you be the judge of that.
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