The Pac-12 has reprimanded UA women's basketball coach Adia Barnes for saying the Wildcats got "homered" in Saturday's overtime loss to Oregon in Eugene.
First-year commissioner George Kliavkoff issued a statement Tuesday morning. It read: “The Conference is responsible for enforcing rules established by the Pac-12 membership, one of which prohibits coaches from publicly commenting about officiating. Should our coaches wish to provide feedback, there is a protocol in place which allows them to do so directly to the coordinator of officiating.”
Barnes was likely facing either a reprimand or a fine. Following Saturday's game, she said there were "a lot of questionable calls that did not go our way." Oregon shot 22 for 26 from the free-throw line; the Wildcats attempted just 10 shots, hitting five.
"I've never had a game where we shot 5 of 10 from the line with some of the most athletic guards in the country and played a team that shot 26," she said. "It is tough to play that way.
"It is what it is. We are going to get homered in different places and that was clearly going on today."
Coach Adia Barnes was reprimanded by the Pac-12 for her comments about the officiating in Saturday's loss at Oregon.
A Pac-12 spokesman said the reprimand will be the "only announced discipline" from Saturday's game, which also included a reported dust-up between Barnes and Oregon coach Kelly Graves. The Pac-12 Hotline reported Monday that Barnes delivered "an inappropriate finger gesture" at Graves following the game. The two coaches had multiple exchanges during the game, which featured a late Oregon rally after Arizona led through three quarters.
Barnes tweeted an apology late Saturday "for being out of character and letting my emotions get the best of me," but did not say what she did. The coach later wrote that she apologized "because despite the disrespect and being cussed at numerous times I should have not responded back."
Arizona guard Shaina Pellington tweeted that Barnes was "cussed at, and called out of her name in the most VULGAR ways the ENTIRE game by Kelly."
"We could hear it from the floor while PLAYING, in the most HOSTILE environment," she wrote. "He needs to be held accountable. Simple.”
Graves, whose Ducks beat powerhouse UConn on Monday night, said the exchange between he and Barnes has been overblown.
"I don't think it was anything more on either side," he said, according to ESPN. "That's what competitors do. We compete, and sometimes that's not always pretty. But I think it was blown out of proportion."
