USC Coach Rejects Notion of Mississippi State Player Intent on JuJu Watkins ACL Injury
In the aftermath of USC Trojans superstar JuJu Watkins tearing her ACL during the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, some fans were trying to start a (ridiculous) narrative that the Mississippi State Bulldogs players who has been guarding Watkins on the play were somehow responsible for what happened, since there was some contact before Watkins went down.
This narrative ultimately prompted a response from Mississippi State head coach, who said, "We're a program of class. We don't play to hurt, we play to compete. And that's just an unfortunate situation. There was no harm, and I hope us as a society, because social media can be ugly, that you understand the other lady on my team that was involved... is remorseful and obviously didn't want to have that happen," he continued.
Indiana Fever star Aliyah Boston also addressed it by responding to a fan spreading this stance, saying, "I’m usually quiet on Twitter but please don’t start this narrative. What happened to Juju is awful and injuries suck but you don’t know how the opposing player is feeling right now and a comment like this only makes her feel worse than she possibly does. So please stop".
I’m usually quiet on Twitter but please don’t start this narrative. What happened to Juju is awful and injuries suck but you don’t know how the opposing player is feeling right now and a comment like this only makes her feel worse than she possibly does. So please stop
— Aliyah A. Boston (@aa_boston) March 26, 2025
Trojans head coach Lindsay Gottlieb spoke with the media on March 28 and also addressed about this sentiment.
"There was nothing to me that looked like it had any intent to hurt her... I understand people being sad and hurt that she's hurt, but nobody in our camp feels like...," Gottlieb said, per an X post from ESPN's Alexa Philippou.
"There was any type of attack on her and would not support any type of online bullying or things of that nature. [Chandler Prater is] a young person that was playing basketball too, and I'm sure did not want any part of a negative situation that it turned out to be," she added.
"there was any type of attack on her and would not support any type of online bullying or things of that nature. [Chandler Prater is] a young person that was playing basketball too, and I'm sure did not want any part of a negative situation that it turned out to be."
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) March 28, 2025
Good on Gottlieb for setting the record straight so that hopefully this stance can be put to rest.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.