"Shouldn't have to walk through a tunnel": Dan Hurley responds to backlash for "knock you out" comment following UConn’s loss to Creighton

After UConn's loss to No. 15 Creighton on Tuesday, Dan Hurley found himself in the news for something rather unpleasant. In the walk-out to the locker room after the tip-off, Hurley was seen engaging with the fans of the Bluejays. It was claimed that the coach said he would knock them out.

While some argued that Creighton fans were indeed unruly by rushing to the court and screaming at Huskies players, others believed that Hurley's reaction was also unnecessary. Now, the 51-year-old has responded to the incident:

"I would just say, the Big East, in my opinion, should look at the passage to and from court. If you've got to go out there before the game, halftime, back out, end of game, [and] to put the most vulgar, drunk individuals that are going to spew profanity-laced things, climbing railings to get at me ... I think you've got to look at trying to create a safer passage," Hurley said.

Hurley also pointed out that fans hurling insults at him did not bother him. But rather, what concerned him was them being rude to him as they were passing to and from the tunnel:

"Once you get to the arena floor, if folks want to serenade me with 'F Dan Hurley' chants, if the university and the people there think that that's classy, then go for it. If during the anthem, fans want to honor the anthem there by several times screaming "F (Hurley)," that's the institution, the arena, the security.

"But, I think the league, to avoid me in a confrontational situation, should probably look at the to and from part."

His suggestion was to have a canopy of some sort, protecting the team from the barrage of insults.

When Dan Hurley incited unruly behavior

During a game against Villanova in 2022, Hurley was given two technical fouls. His first was for arguing with the referees over a missed call and slapping the score table. Then he turned to the crowd and started pumping them to boo the referees.

The officials did not like this, and he was given his second technical. Dan Hurley was then ejected from the court immediately. Regardless, in the end, the Huskies ended up taking home the win.

Many on X, formerly Twitter, pointed out the apparent hypocrisy from Hurley's end regarding this whole incident.

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