ESPN reporter Holly Rowe didn’t hold back in a social media post on April 6 after freshman guard Jaida Civil announced she was entering the transfer portal, leaving no returning players for Lady Vols basketball.
Rowe directly called out Tennessee athletic director Danny White for his handling of the women’s basketball program.
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“What Danny White is allowing to happen to @LadyVol_Hoops is making me so sad. Gut wrenching to watch him let one of the greatest programs in women’s sports history disintegrate. I am devastated,” Rowe wrote.
Rowe has covered women’s basketball among other sports at ESPN for nearly three decades, and she covered much of legendary Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt’s career.
Rowe was the moderator for the live reunion special in Summitt’s honor produced by Omaha Productions in December. She shared some of her own stories as a reporter covering Summitt, from her first sit-down interview to covering the 2007 national championship.
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“Every once in a while, I’ll see clips come across social media and it’s Pat’s voice, and I’ll just start crying and I just miss her,” Rowe said Dec. 11. “I think this is a really good opportunity for all of us who miss her to just spend some really good time remembering her and her legacy, because we all lived different chapters of her life with her. And so I’m excited that we get to talk about those and laugh and, knowing me cry, and just enjoy the memories.”
Coach Kim Caldwell’s second season at Tennessee ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history. The Lady Vols went 16-14 and recorded the worst winning percentage in program history (.552), and their 16 wins were the fewest of the NCAA era.
In addition to all eight possible returners entering the transfer portal, Tennessee’s incoming freshman class is shrinking. Five-star forward Oliviyah Edwards requested her release from her signing on April 4, according to On3.
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: ESPN’s Holly Rowe calls out Tennessee AD Danny White for handling of Lady Vols
