This post is to address the question of whether Tara is a classy coach or not. I think she is and here's why.
With the exception of one year she took off to coach the national team, she's been at Stanford since 1985. That's 37 years at one of the most high profile teams in the country.
I don't follow Stanford with any regularity except how they impact UConn, but I don't recall a time when she said something that she had to later walk back.
I saw her at the opening tournament at Ohio State featuring OSU, UConn and I think Syracuse to start the 2017/18 season. This was an off year for the Cardinal - they went 24-11. They got hammered the first night of the tournament, losing to OSU by 21, followed by a 25 point loss to UConn the next night.
My seat was right by the locker room tunnel that Stanford used, and I can still see the anger in her face when she walked by after both losses. She was showing some raw emotion - but you didn't see this in the pressers after the games.
Think about how much emotional investment coaches like Dawn, Kim, Geno, Tara, etc., who regularly are in the conversation for making the final four, have in their players, their respective schools, as well as their careers. I'd think there would be something wrong if a losing coach didn't show strong emotion in wake of a defeat like her team suffered last night.
Kudos to a losing coach that can still show outward grace in this situation - Pat Summitt, asking permission to address and personally congratulate the UConn team after we beat her for the national title, comes to mind. But if they are a bit more "reserved" in the moment, well that's okay by me.