Jeff Goodman once accused Seth Greenberg of acting as Dan Hurley’s personal PR firm.
He might not be the only one.
The former college hoops coach turned ESPN analyst came to Hurley’s defense after a viral video captured the UConn head coach venting about officiating in the bowels of the Lenovo Center following his team’s NCAA Tournament loss to Florida.
Joey Ellis of Queen City News recorded Hurley warning Baylor’s staff.
Dan Hurley exiting the arena after UConn’s NCAA Tournament loss to Florida, presumably about the officiating:
“I hope they don’t f*ck you like they f*cked us. I hope they don’t do that to you, Baylor.” #MarchMadness
(via @Jellis1016) pic.twitter.com/LTtRkSCkpf
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 23, 2025
That clip didn’t do Hurley any favors, but UConn’s response drew even more scrutiny.
Ellis was promptly threatened by UConn Sports Information Director Bobby Mullen, who later apologized — but only after reportedly telling Ellis he would “ruin his life” if the video wasn’t deleted. It wasn’t. Before backtracking, Mullen justified his outrage by claiming Ellis had been in an unauthorized area.
“The lasting image of Coach Hurley leaving the court should’ve been his walking off the court arm-in-arm with his seniors, overwhelmed with emotion,” Mullen said in a statement provided to Charlotte Sports Live. “Instead, a reporter, who was in an area he should not have been, recorded on his cell phone a private comment made to members of another coaching staff.”
Greenberg seemed to buy that explanation during a recent appearance on the You Better You Bet show which airs on the BetMGM Network, siding with Hurley and UConn in what became an unnecessary controversy of their own making.
“That is a sacred place.”@SethOnHoops doesn’t think that media should be allowed in the tunnels after games.@TheKostos | @FemiAbebefe pic.twitter.com/AvqyBIG5cA
— You Better You Bet (@YouBetterYouBet) March 25, 2025
“Look, he shouldn’t have said that,” Greenberg admitted to host Nick Kostos. “Not in that situation, not talking to someone else’s team. Two, there shouldn’t be a camera phone in the hallway. That hallway is a sacred place. When you’re going on and off the court, that tunnel, there should be no media in that tunnel. There should be no one with a cell phone in that tunnel. The NCAA should police that. That’s unacceptable.
“But what Dan said was wrong also. You know, you lose an absolutely brutal game, you led the whole game, there’s disappointment, there’s anger, there’s frustration. He’s got to get better at that. There’s no doubt about it. But I think the NCAA’s gotta do a better job of policing that.
Having said that, that’s not the real Dan Hurley. The Dan Hurley that went on that podium and talked about his love for his team and how much he appreciated them; that’s the Dan Hurley I know. That’s the Dan Hurley guys play their tails off for. And that’s the Dan Hurley that’s won back-to-back National Championships before this season.
“He’s a savant as a coach. He’s passionate. He has great energy. And, yeah, he can lose it. But when guys go to play for him, they know what they’re getting. He was wrong, but if you watched the postgame press conference, you see a totally different Danny Hurley. I really do believe the media, or people with cellphones, should not have the ability to videotape coaches coming in and out of that tunnel. That is a sacred place. You want to interview them in the locker room when the doors are open? Great. You want to interview him on the podium after the game? Great. But, you know what? Cameras, cellphones and, media members, and gurus, and everyone else, no, no. When you step on the court, everything’s fair game. All that other stuff? Off-limits.”
Did Greenberg forget he’s a media member now, too?
It’s an interesting stance from a guy who now gets paid to talk for a living.
