South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley is making if clear she has Shane Beamer’s back.
Beamer, the Gamecocks’ head football coach, apologized on Monday for yelling to a group of female athletes being honored to get off the field during Saturday’s game against Georgia. The young women were recognized during a TV timeout in between the first and second quarter.
“I apologize to anyone that I offended,” Beamer said, via the Washington Post. “That was just my initial reaction.”
Beamer went on to cite his own record as a supporter of women’s sports, and it looks like Staley is willing to back him up.
“Hey @CoachSBeamer sorry I’ve been under a rock the last few days but we know you have done nothing but support our programs since the day you became @GamecockFB head coach!” Staley tweeted tonight. “All hands on deck to get a win on Saturday!”
Earlier today, Beamer explained why he reacted the way he did, saying he was not made aware of the ceremony beforehand and was caught up in the game situation at hand.
“We send our offense out there to go for it,” Beamer explained. “They’re on the line of scrimmage. Georgia is able to see the formation that we’re in. We did what we were asked to do and we were not able to snap the football. I look down in the end zone and I see why. My first initial reaction was to yell, ‘Get off the field.’ I had no idea who was down there.”
The 45-year-old Beamer is in his second season as head coach at South Carolina.