Things got a bit awkward and definitely heated after a women’s college basketball game concluded on Sunday. After Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes tangoed with rival Nebraska, the Cornhuskers women’s team went to the podium.
Owen Siebring, who writes in his social media profile that he is a TV reporter in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, attended the game on Sunday in Lincoln, likely as Hawkeyes media. Siebring provided audio and video of the exchange that occurred away from the press room, which occurred as Nebraska center Alexis Markowski was speaking at the podium.
In the audio clip, a woman can be heard getting into a heated with someone as she attempted to enter the press room. Per Siebring, the voice belonged to Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder.
Bluder could be heard exclaiming, “We got a flight to catch! This is bulls**t. This is not Big Ten protocol! … They play music while you shoot free throws.” As Siebring pointed out, the visiting team traditionally goes to the podium first. In this instance, the Huskers appeared to go up to the podium first.
Here's the audio from my external microphone during today's press conference. As Alexis Markowski was answering a question, you can hear Lisa Bluder trying to get into the media room, saying, "this is bullshit, this is not Big Ten protocol… they play music while you shoot free… pic.twitter.com/f34ttfmYoM
— Owen Siebring (@owensiebring) February 11, 2024
Markowski simply remained strong and silent while Bludner exclaimed in anger. Siebring’s audio came in quite clearly, and credit is deserved for capturing the intense moment.
As far as tense press conferences go, this one got pretty shaky. At least no insults were hurled toward the players.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022