During the discussion about Staley's blaming the loss on the ball, a number of posters said she threw her team under the bus because she stated they couldn't adapt to the Nike ball.
My comments - 1) That's about as BS a reason as I can think of, for all the reasons so well articulated already. 2) That being said, one BYer said that given who Staley is - the reality of her being a black woman in this society, etc - he's willing to give her a pass. I'm in that camp. She has never come across to me, and I don't expect that it will ever change, as eloquent a speaker as other coaches like Geno, Walz, McGraw, and others. She has a different upbringing that gives her a rougher edge and if it hasn't been smoothed over, I'm okay with that.
My question - what constitutes throwing a player or team under the bus? Personally, I think it is one of those things that are almost impossible to define, being something akin to "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" or "I know it when I see it".
Geno is famous for his sarcastic quips - 1) After the loss to Baylor last year, calling the team dummies for calling a time out late in the game when down by 17. 2) from 2019 regarding Anna: “You know how some guys (shoot) 0-for-the-game or 0-for-the-week, well she is 0-for-America. She hasn’t made a shot since she has been in this country. They should stop saying she is from Poland. People in Poland are starting to get upset.” 3) When he said Taurasi screwed up in the U-18 game against Brazil because she "only" scored 26 points instead of the 30 he told her the team would need.
We generally accept as UConn faithful that these barbs are meant to motivate and not hurt. And I don't think these examples are actually in the same league as "they couldn't adjust". But it's pretty clear that fans of other teams who don't care about UConn can also cite these quotes as throwing players under the bus.
So I throw the question out there - what for you defines a coach's comment as throwing someone under the bus?
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