Auriemma: Unknown school claims call to Mo'Ne Davis was violation

Connecticut women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma said Wednesday that an unnamed school claimed his congratulatory phone call to LLWS star Mo'Ne Davis was a recruiting violation.
Auriemma: Unknown school claims call to Mo'Ne Davis was violation
Auriemma: Unknown school claims call to Mo'Ne Davis was violation /

Connecticut women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma said Wednesday that an unnamed school said his congratulatory phone call to Little League World Series star Mo'Ne Davis was a recruiting violation, according to the Hartford Courant

According to Auriemma, the school filed a complaint with the American Athletic Conference.

How Mo'ne Davis, Taney captured national fame at LLWS

After Davis helped lead her Philadelphia team to the U.S. semifinals at the LLWS, Auriemma was asked to call and congratulate her on a recommendation by the Philadelphia 76ers.

Davis, who also plays basketball, has stated her desire to play the sport for UConn in college and often wore a Connecticut sweatshirt while in Williamsport. 

"The conversation lasted like two minutes and we hung up," Auriemma said. "And then I was told a school turned us in for a recruiting violation because we are not allowed contact of July 1 before her junior year of high school. ... That's the world that we live in."

Auriemma said he has no idea if Davis is even good at basketball, and asked how it can be a violation.

Watch a young Mo'ne Davis breaking ankles on the basketball court

"There are guys playing college basketball driving around in cars worth more than my house and we're worried about a phone call to a little girl?" he said.

UConn said Davis, an eighth grader, is not considered a prospective student-athlete until she is in high school. 

- Molly Geary


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