It seems that the staff surrounding Dan Hurley handles losing in a similar way to their boss.
“I hope they don’t f–k you like they f–ked us,” Hurley shouted toward Baylor as the Bears prepared to take the floor following UConn’s elimination at the hands of Florida on Sunday.
Charlotte Sports Live reporter Joey Ellis recorded Hurley’s rant and the clip went viral — much to the annoyance of UConn’s director of men’s basketball communications Bobby Mullen, as he reportedly asked Ellis to delete the video before threatening to “ruin” Ellis’ life if he did not cooperate.
Ellis left the video up on his X account, and Mullen later released a statement not regarding his own actions, but instead doubling down on the displeasure with the clip being taken of Hurley.
“The lasting image of coach Hurley leaving the court should have been his walking off the court arm-in-arm with his seniors, overwhelmed with emotion,” Mullen said in a statement. “Instead, a reporter who was in an area he should not have been, recorded on his cell phone a private comment made to members of another coaching staff.”
Warning: Graphic language
Mullen also took to his own X account following the incident.
“PR man yells at reporter. News at 11,” Mullen wrote in a now-deleted post. “I have a journalism degree and I know the difference between reporting and seeking out ‘gotcha’ moments. My temper flared a bit in a moment of weakness after a loss, but I think the journalists I work with regularly would vouch for me.”
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Hurley is a polarizing coach and person. He is one of the most outspoken and emotionally driven coaches in the sport — all while leading the Huskies to back-to-back national championships before falling short of the three-peat in Sunday’s second-round tournament loss to No. 1 seed Florida.
Dealing with the PR and the infinite number of eyes on Hurley over the past several years, Mullen has certainly had his hands full.
Now, after seemingly threatening to ruin a reporter’s life because he was doing his job, Mullen has even more to worry about.
