UCLA coach Mick Cronin apologized Friday for a pair of outbursts from earlier in the week and assured that he’s still “a good fit” for the Bruins.
“I know I’m not bigger than the brand,” Cronin said. “The brand matters, the school matters. The last thing I want to do is bring negative publicity to our school. And sometimes — because it’s not about me, I don’t care what people think about me — I need to do a better job knowing I am the coach here, and I need to make sure I don’t do anything to embarrass our school.”
An onslaught of scrutiny has followed Cronin since Tuesday night, when the notoriously short-tempered coach blew up on his own player late in UCLA’s blowout loss to Michigan State. After center Steven Jamerson II committed a hard foul with UCLA trailing by 27, Cronin was caught on camera blowing up at the 6-foot-10 center before sending him to the locker room mid-game.
Cronin said Friday that he personally apologized to Jamerson earlier this week and addressed the team about the situation. He explained that he initially thought the foul was “a dirty play” by Jamerson, but changed his tune after watching the film.
His UCLA teammates have since tried to rally behind Jamerson, who they said was “a little in his head” in the wake of his unprecedented ejection.
“It was kind of a big-time moment,” guard Skyy Clark said. “Any player is going to have some thoughts after that.”
Bruins players held a players-only meeting soon after to discuss how to move forward.
“I don’t think, to be honest, the entire world has ever seen that in a game,” guard Trent Perry said of the ejection.
It wasn’t long after that moment that Cronin went viral again, this time for chiding a reporter who asked about the Michigan State student section during his post-game interview.
Cronin didn’t offer any direct apology to the reporter, but said Friday that he was often too candid and needs to “dial back some of [his] humor.”
“You have to realize, and I have to do a better job of this, that in this climate, you’ve got to be careful with what you say,” Cronin said.
Yet even as the coach was roundly criticized for his handling of the situation, UCLA’s players were insistent that Cronin still had their backs.
“They’re not around him every day,” Clark said. “They don’t see the full him. That’s just how he coaches.”
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