People made excuses about Sendek’s teams for years. Close doesn’t count for much in most sports…you either win or you don’t.
I don’t know what people said about Sendek’s teams but I’m pretty sure Hale wasn’t making “excuses” for Doeren’s 2016 team. What possible reason would Hale have for making excuses for anybody? If making excuses is how you read what Hale had to say, I’d suggest you ask yourself, “What filter am I looking through.”
I find it ludicrous for you or anybody to consider another’s evaluation of information to be making excuses. Get real.
