"Things just got escalated": Dawn Staley claims Flau'jae Johnson apologized to her after intense moment with Kamilla Cardoso

Dawn Staley claimed Flau’jae Johnson came to her to apologize after the SEC tournament final. According to the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball head coach, the LSU Tigers star is a good person and things just escalated on the court. This comes after Johnson's intense standoff with Kamilla Cardoso and other South Carolina players.

A fight erupted between the two teams that saw four South Carolina players ejected from the game, including Cardoso. Two LSU players were also sent off and both teams finished the game short of players. The contention was Cardoso shoving Johnson, which led to all the chaos in Greenville.

“I wanna say this. Flau’jae came to me right after the game and she just apologized and said that she is not that type of player. And I really appreciate that.

"That's something somebody won't ever hear if I didn't say anything. She’s a really good person. Things just got escalated. I’ll take responsibility for what happened from our side of it,” Staley said in her post game press conference.

The Gamecocks kept their unbeaten streak alive with a 79-72 victory over the reigning national champs. It was their eighth SEC title in the last decade, as well as their 33rd win without dropping a game this season.

Six South Carolina players celebrated the victory on the court, while the four who were sent off remained in the locker room. Due to their ejection, all of those players, including Cardoso, will miss the Gamecocks' NCAA tournament opener.

Fans appreciate maturity from Flau'jae Johnson and Dawn Staley

The college basketball world was appreciative of both Flau'jae Johnson and Dawn Staley for their class and maturity. Fans pointed out that the incident showed the kind of respect Staley commands.

Some even joked about Johnson transferring to South Carolina after the incident. Here are a few reactions.

Fans loved the class shown by both in the aftermath.

Some other reactions

Johnson's brother, Trayron Milton, was arrested after he got involved in the fight as his sister was seemingly shoved to the ground by Cardoso. Greenville police charged the 24-year-old with assault, battery, and disorderly conduct as he pushed an SEC employee to get past her.

He reached the Gamecocks star and briefly made contact before being taken away by the authorities.