"We don't like each other": Candace Parker calls to normalize tension among women with blunt Geno Auriemma statement 

During her collegiate days, Candace Parker’s Tennessee had a heated rivalry with Connecticut, coached by Geno Auriemma. The feud has gone on for years, with Parker expressing her dislike for the legendary women’s basketball coach.

In an interview with Complex Magazine, she answered a question about her rivalry with Auriemma. Parker explained that it should be normalized to dislike others and carry on with the disapproval.

"No. It's not beef. It's just we don't like each other," she said on Auriemma. "We have to be in a place where people understand and respect that, right? Like, there's so many men out there that don't like each other.”

Parker believed it should be okay to dislike each other, citing numerous sports legends such as Tom Brady and football coach Bill Belichick.

“It's so okay in society for people to not like each other. It's so okay for people to come on social media and talk junk if you're a man. Like, it's fine, we don't like each other,” she said.

“I grew up in an era where, if you wronged my brother, I didn't like you. It's just like that. Pat [Summitt] did not mess with Geno. So therefore, I didn't mess with him. It was a rivalry…The best feeling is knowing you don't like each other. There's no beef, because we moved past it," Parker added.

Pat Summitt was Parker’s coach during her time in Tennessee.

In 2016, Parker, who was in her prime, was not selected for Team USA for the Olympic Games. Auriemma coached the team to the gold medal.

Parker cites former coach’s dislike of Auriemma in longtime feud

Candace Parker has been a loyal follower of former coach Pat Summitt. The late Tennessee coach did not like Geno Auriemma during their time as rival coaches, which resulted in Parker’s similar dislike for the UConn coach.

Talking to CNBC Television, Parker said Summitt's feud with Auriemma was the genesis of her long-standing beef with the coach.

“Pat did not like Geno. So I did not like Geno. That’s all it was,” she said.

Parker is currently a talking head for the WNBA, while Auriemma remains a championship-caliber coach at UConn.