UK coach Calipari apologizes for tirade

By foxsports
Published

University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari apologized for an ugly, obscenity-laced tirade directed at freshman forward Terrence Jones during Tuesday night's loss at Alabama.

ESPN's cameras caught Calipari as he called the 19-year-old a "selfish mother******" late in the second half.

Following the game, the 51-year-old coach apologized for the outburst via Twitter.

"First of all I want to apologize for my language at the end of the game. I got caught up in the emotion of the game, but that's no excuse," he wrote.

"Sometimes you don't realize in the moment that what you're saying is on national TV. The BBN deserves better and so do my players."

Calipari was referring to Kentucky fans as the BBN, or Big Blue Nation.

The two-time Coach of the Year has been hard on the highly touted freshman of late, benching him early in a Jan. 11 win over Auburn, then saying that Jones was not passing enough after Saturday's 82-44 win over LSU.

The 68-66 loss in Tuscaloosa dropped the 12th-ranked Wildcats to 14-4 and 2-2 in SEC play. Jones, who is leading the team with 18.5 points per game, registered 17 points and nine rebounds in Tuesday's loss.