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Arizona's Adia Barnes 'Not Apologizing' for Viral Celebration Video vs. UConn
April 3, 2021
The Arizona Wildcats will be playing in the national championship for the first time in program history after upsetting UConn 69-59 on Friday in the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.
After the game, Arizona head coach Adia Barnes put up her middle fingers and shouted an expletive in a postgame team huddle captured on ESPN cameras.
On Saturday, Barnes spoke about the moment and said she didn't feel the need to apologize for her actions.
Gary Parrish of CBS Sports tweeted that Barnes shouldn't have to say sorry, and Barnes replied to the writer, mentioning what she said in the moment.
"Gary, I was so pumped up it was the heat of the moment and it was supposed to be a private moment with my team! I told them WE BELIEVED IN US!FORGET EVERYONE THAT DIDN’T, I WILL GO TO WAR WITH U ANYTIME ANY PLACE!! Not the best look but I was loving on my team."
Barnes shouldn't have to explain herself, let alone apologize.
The Wildcats entered the Final Four as the clear underdogs alongside three No. 1 seeds. They entered the NCAA tournament by losing three of their last four games. But they've rolled off five straight wins, including victories over No. 2 Texas A&M and No. 1 UConn.
The NCAA also notably omitted Arizona from a hype video that featured the other semifinal participants—South Carolina, Baylor and UConn. Arizona senior guard Aari McDonald said she took it as a "sign of disrespect." while Barnes added that "stuff like that shouldn't happen."
It's hard to disrespect the Wildcats now after a tremendous performance. They'll look to win the title against Pac-12 rival Stanford on Sunday.