Dan Hurley. Photo:
Grant Halverson/NCAA Photos via Getty
A staffer for the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team has reportedly apologized to a college basketball reporter after threatening to “ruin his life” over a video he took of the team’s head coach that went viral.
Joey Ellis, a sports reporter for the Queen City News, shared on social media that he spoke with UConn men’s basketball director of communications Bobby Mullen and that Mullen “apologized for his behavior.” Ellis said he accepted Mullen’s apology and that “life rolls on.”
Mullen’s behavior drew backlash in recent days after he threatened to “ruin” Ellis’ life over a video the reporter took showing UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley swearing and complaining about the referees who officiated the team’s season-ending loss to the University of Florida on Sunday.
UConn, the back-to-back NCAA men’s basketball champions, lost to Florida 77-75 in one of the closest games of this year’s March Madness tournament.
After the game, Ellis shared the video of Hurley, 52, yelling and complaining to the coaching staff for Baylor University’s men’s basketball team, who was waiting to take the court for the next game.
“I hope they don’t f— you like they f—— us,” Hurley is heard yelling in the clip.
Other reporters rallied behind Ellis after his station’s Charlotte Sports Live program reported how Mullen had threatened him over the viral video, which was taken as the team was walking off the floor. Several reporters, including others at CSL, also corroborated what Mullen said to Ellis after the game.
“What a clown,” Stewart Mandel, a sports reporter for The Athletic, responded to the CSL report about Mullen. “Embarrassing look for them,” added The Athletic NFL reporter Colton Pouncy.
“We got your back,” said Jack Stager, the Sports Editor for Michigan State University’s student-run WDBM radio station. “Absolutely nothing wrong with your reporting.”
Bobby Mullen. UCONN Athletics
Others questioned Mullen’s initial statement to CSL about the controversy, where he claimed that Ellis was “in an area he should not have been” and bemoaned that the “lasting image of Coach Hurley leaving the court should have been his walking off the court arm-in-arm with his seniors, overwhelmed with emotion.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Hurley has become known in recent years for complaining about officiating, especially after his team loses. After winning back-to-back national championships, UConn’s men’s basketball team struggled this season, going 24-12 before its brief run in this year’s tournament.
