Geno Auriemma said he believes his fellow coaches have become “afraid” of upsetting their players because they will either transfer and/or report on them for being abusive.

“The majority of coaches in America are afraid of their players,” the UConn women’s basketball coach said during a Tuesday conference call with reporters before this weekend’s women’s Final Four. “The NCAA, the athletic directors and society has made them afraid of their players. Every article you read: ‘This guy’s a bully. This woman’s a bully. This guy went over the line. This woman was inappropriate.’

“Yet the players get off scot-free in everything. They can do whatever they want. They don’t like something you say to them, they transfer.”

Auriemma also said some bad coaches have helped create this atmosphere.

“Coaches, they have to coach with one hand behind their back,” he added. “Why? Because some people have abused the role of a coach.”

Recently some big-name programs have had to deal with some of these coach workplace issues.

On Monday, North Carolina placed Hall of Fame women’s basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell and her three assistants on paid administrative leave amid player concerns and is reviewing the program. The school said the review is “due to issues raised by student-athletes and others” but did not elaborate.

Georgia Tech women’s basketball coach MaChelle Joseph was fired on March 26 after a monthlong independent investigation of the program; she had been placed on administrative leave Feb. 27. Yellow Jacket players said Joseph, who ran the program for 18 seasons, created a “toxic” and “hostile” environment.

The other Final Four coaches — Notre Dame’s Muffet McGraw, Baylor’s Kim Mulkey and Oregon’s Kelly Graves — agreed with Auriemma that coaches have to be more aware of how they speak to their players.

Auriemma also said Tom Izzo got grief for a recent in-game interaction with Aaron Henry, adding that the so-called “line” between passionate and abusive coaching can can be hard to distinguish.

“People gave [Michigan State men’s coach] Tom Izzo a lot of grief for something he did on the sideline,” Auriemma said. “His players loved that. He doesn’t have to care what you think of it.

“He just has to care what his players think of it. If his players all transferred, if his players all quit on him, then he went over the line. If his players play really hard for him, they keep winning, they love him, they keep coming back to the program, then that’s passion.”

Henry, who had a big game in a Sweet 16 matchup against LSU, came to Izzo’s defense.

“It’s just people are going to have their opinion on a lot of things, and I know right from wrong,” he said. “I know when somebody is trying to help me and when somebody is trying to coach me. I came here to get coached and I came here to become the best player I can be.”

After the win over LSU, Izzo said motivating players and seeing them responds makes the job worth while.

“When a player responds, that is probably the greatest part of my job, and this kid has taken off,” Izzo said. “I truly do appreciate Aaron Henry. I appreciate the fact that instead of moping and complaining like everybody else in the world, he went to work. And that’s why he’s going to be a great player before he’s done.”

With AP