Dawn Staley calls out ESPN for framing of Paige Bueckers comment: Does she have a point?

Once again, the UConn Huskies are back on top of women’s college basketball, capturing their 12th national championship this past Sunday with a dominant 82–59 win over South Carolina. The highly anticipated showdown between legendary coaches Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley was a battle from start to finish — but UConn pulled away, led by Paige Bueckers, who scored 17 points and finally claimed her first national title in her five-year career.

But instead of headlines celebrating the players, controversy erupted after ESPN’s Women’s Hoops X (formerly Twitter) account posted a misleading caption about Staley’s postgame comments.

“Dawn Staley says narrative around Paige Bueckers and her quest to win a title has overshadowed South Carolina’s feats.”

Staley didn’t hold back, calling out the post directly on her personal X account:

Her actual comments painted a very different picture — one where she acknowledged Bueckers' incredible career, while also advocating for equal praise for her own players and their journey to the championship game.

“It happened to us last year. Everything was about Caitlin Clark and her legacy... I want the sentiments to be about our players and what our players have been able to do. Equally.”

South Carolina entered the title game with a perfect 36–0 record and was chasing history. A win would’ve capped one of the most dominant seasons ever in women’s college basketball. But just like in 2023, much of the narrative leading up to the game focused on a single star — first Caitlin Clark, now Paige Bueckers.

While Clark has undeniably played a major role in the explosion of interest around women’s basketball and the WNBA, she's also been the subject of complex conversations around race, media bias, and representation in sports. Staley’s comments speak to that imbalance — not to diminish individual stars, but to emphasize that team achievements and narratives deserve equal spotlight.

So, was Staley right to call out ESPN? Absolutely. Misleading headlines like this don’t just distort the story — they feed into the exact cycle of media favoritism Staley was pointing out. As one of the most decorated and respected coaches in the game, her voice carries weight. And she used it to stand up — not just for her team, but for the integrity of women’s sports coverage as a whole.