Following a loss in the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, UConn head coach Dan Hurley forewarned Baylor about the referees in a viral video taken online by Charlotte Sports Live reporter Joey Ellis. Bobby Mullen, the UConn director of men’s basketball communications, reportedly threatened to ruin the life of Ellis if he did not delete the video, which has since led to public outcry surrounding the incident. This was a topic of conversation on the Wednesday morning edition of The Greg Hill Show on WEEI in Boston, and co-host Courtney Cox expressed that she did not love seeing Mullen get involved in the situation.
Mullen wrote a since-deleted post on X ostensibly expressing a sardonic tone towards the outrage, articulating that a public relations person yelling at reporter would be “News at 11.” Furthermore, he seemed to defend his actions by explaining that he has a degree in the field and knows the difference between reporting and trying to find ‘Gotcha’ moments. Mullen also added that he feels the journalists who he works with regularly would vouch for him.
“Dan Hurley can run his mouth, can say whatever he wants,” Cox explained. “He’s earned that, he’s earned the respect of everybody around him. The SID is supposed to be the person in-between the coach and the media and kind of tempering a situation. Adding fuel to the fire, I don’t think is a good look for UConn.”
Co-host Jermaine Wiggns stated that Hurley knows the cameras are always on him and talked about how society has become soft surrounding coaches, especially those in college. Cox clarified that no one was upset about Hurley, but it was more about Mullen trying to intimidate the journalist into deleting the post.
“That also is a douche move,” Hill said. “That’s a douche move by the SID…. They’re talking about suspending Dan Hurley for games next season for it. That’s ridiculous, ridiculous.”
Show producer Chris Curtis asked if everyone had seen the ratings for the first two rounds of the tournament, to which Cox replied that the numbers were the highest since the 1990s. CBS Sports and TNT Sports announced that their broadcasts were averaging 9.4 million viewers per window, rendering the tournament the most-watched iteration of such in the last 32 years. As the tournament thrives and NBA ratings remain relatively flat compared to the previous year, Curtis surmised that it indicates waning interest in the latter because of the three-point shot.
“Doesn’t that solidify that belief?,” Curtis questioned. “These games are starless by and large. Outside of Cooper Flagg, I don’t know anybody, I just know the coaches, I don’t watch college basketball during the regular season, I find these games entertaining – obviously legalized sports betting is a huge component – [but] that exists in the NBA as well. I just think that the way the game’s played in college where it is not all [posting] up shots from the three-point line, it is more entertaining.”
The Sweet 16 stage of the tournament is composed of teams that are entirely from power conferences, marking the first time this has taken place since the expansion to 64 teams in 1985. With no ‘Cinderella’ teams still involved in the proceedings, there has been criticism surrounding the effects of NIL deals and the transfer portal. Yet Hill, going against popular opinion, does not think this is a good thing for the tournament going forward despite the ratings success.
“Well, look at St. Francis,” Wiggins responded. “They had to drop down from Division I to Division III because they can’t compete with the NILs, but that’s just the nature of college sports nowadays is the ability – the biggest schools are able to take advantage of that.”
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