USC coach says JuJu Watkins’ injury was not the result of a dirty play, condemns online bullying

USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said during a press conference on Friday that JuJu Watkins’ season-ending ACL tear was not the result of a dirty play. Gottlieb also condemned the online abuse that Mississippi State players have faced in the wake of the injury, which happened during the Trojans’ win over the Bulldogs in the second round of the 2025 Women’s NCAA Tournament. 

“There was nothing to me that looked like it had any intent to hurt her. … I mean, that’s not a USC view at all,” Gottlieb said. “It was a physical game. … No one deserves online bullying in any realm, but certainly not a young woman in Chandler [Prater], who was trying to make a play, and unfortunately our player got hurt.”

Just a few minutes into the Trojans’ win on Monday, which was played at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, Watkins was fouled in transition and went down screaming in pain. She was carried off the court and later diagnosed with a torn ACL, which ended her season and could potentially keep her off the court for all of next season as well. 

The remainder of the game was tense and physical, even as the Trojans cruised to a 37-point win. There were frequent boos from the partisan crowd, and, perhaps most notably, a minor dust-up during the post-game handshake line. 

“We don’t play to hurt, we play to compete and that’s just an unfortunate situation,” Mississippi State coach Sam Purcell said during his press conference after the game. “There was no harm, and I hope us as a society, I know social media can be ugly, that you understand that the other lady that was involved that’s on my team is a woman of class.”

Purcell’s comments fell on deaf ears. In the days following the game, Mississippi State players received dozens of hateful messages online. Prater, who fouled Watkins on the fateful play, was the main target and had to turn off comments on her social media pages. 

“To reiterate what Coach (Sam) Purcell said following (Monday) night’s game, it was an unfortunate situation during a basketball play and our thoughts are with JuJu Watkins as she recovers,” a Mississippi State athletics department spokesperson said in a statement to The Clarion-Ledger. “We recognize that emotions run high in competitive sports, but there is no excuse for personal attacks or harassment online toward the young women in our program. Mississippi State will continue to support all of our student-athletes, both on and off the court.”

Gottlieb echoed the comments from Purcell and Mississippi State. 

“We have really passionate fans, and there’s a lot of love for JuJu, and I understand people being sad and hurt that she’s hurt,” Gottlieb said on Friday. “But nobody in our camp feels like there was any type of attack on her and would not support any type of online bullying or things of that nature. She’s 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.”

Gottlieb and USC are set to play Kansas State in the Sweet 16 on Saturday. Tip off is set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Trojans will have to find a way to win without Watkins, who accounted for 30% of their offense during the regular season, if they want to get back to the Elite Eight for the second year in a row.