Michael Cooper Probably Thinks Rick Neuheisel’s Newspaper Ad Was Subtle

It’s very easy to take one pull quote and take it completely out of context. I dare you to try and find a way to do that with the following quote from USC women’s basketball coach Michael Cooper from this past weekend:↵↵⇥“My opening statement is f--- UCLA,” Cooper said to the assembled media after USC’s 70-63 win.↵↵↵Yes, this was after a win, which by all accounts wasn’t rife with controversy beyond what you’d expect in a typical UCLA-USC rivalry game.↵

↵↵I’ve been a part of a lot of press conferences where a coach launched into some bizarre tirade after a game with their opening statement, but that is an all-timer. Cooper has issued an apology in the form of a letter to UCLA women’s coach Nikki Caldwell:↵

↵↵⇥“I want to offer my sincerest apology to you, your players and your university for the inappropriate comment I made after our game on Sunday,” Cooper wrote. “There is no excuse for it, and I realize it is outside the bounds of good sportsmanship.↵⇥↵⇥“As a coach, I know I am a role model to student-athletes and my comment was certainly not a proper example for them. I will work hard to correct that.↵⇥

↵⇥↵⇥“I realize how poorly my remarks reflect on me, my university as well as our conference. For that, I am truly sorry. I have great respect for all our opponents and especially UCLA as our crosstown rival. I wish you and your UCLA team the best of luck this season and look forward to our next game.”↵⇥

↵↵↵If Cooper is trying to prove he’s ready for some sort of next level gig on the men’s side, this would be a funny way of proving it. Cooper is lucky this happened in the vacuum that is a Sunday women’s college basketball game. If he was the coach of the men’s Trojans, is there any doubt he’d be suspended already? Not saying long term, but wouldn’t there have been more than a simple written letter required? (The Pac-10 could still nail him with some sort of punishment, too.)↵

↵↵The fact that 1. this story just hit the mainstream today and 2. there is no video of this incident despite happening in such a major market speaks volumes about the total lack of coverage in women’s hoops. While most coaches would generally bemoan that lack of attention, Cooper should be thrilled about it, because otherwise we’d be seeing it looped on SportsCenter. ↵

↵↵(H/T to Dime)↵

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