South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley defended the team's fanbase on Wednesday, one day after Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk said that members of the Tigers women's basketball team were spit on and called a racial slur by the South Carolina fans after the team's game Sunday in Columbia, South Carolina.
"The accusations are serious and false and they will be handled in the manner reflective of those facts," Staley told reporters. "Our fans are great. They're loyal. They're passionate. They understand basketball. They understand how to act in the stands. If I could uproot them and put them in every women's basketball arena, every coach that represents that particular fan base would be tremendously proud of what they bring to the table.