Mark Pope said his team wouldn’t give away its power. The SEC just made him pay $25,000 for saying so.
The Southeastern Conference announced Tuesday that it has issued a public reprimand and a $25,000 fine to Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope for his “post-game conduct and comments” following the Wildcats’ 75-74 road loss at Auburn on Saturday. The specific violation: remarks related to officiating, caught on a hot mic as Pope left the postgame podium.
What Did Kentucky Head Coach Mark Pope Say?
“Mitch, if those mother F’ers try to fine me, screw ’em because I did not say a word about how they cheated us,” Pope said to Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart as he walked away from the podium.
However, the SEC did fine him, explaining his comments violated SEC Bylaw 10.5.3 (Sportsmanship) and the SEC Commissioner’s Regulation regarding Public Criticism of Officials.
The league’s full statement said Pope had been “issued a public reprimand and fined $25,000 by the Southeastern Conference for post-game conduct and comments related to officiating,” with the rules prohibiting coaches, student-athletes, and institutional staff from “publicly criticizing officials or disclosing officiating-related communications.” The SEC wasn’t going to look the other way on this one.
The frustration traces back to a possession with 14 seconds remaining and Kentucky’s season hanging on the line. Collin Chandler was whistled for an offensive foul on an inbounds play, wiping out what would have been a critical possession for the Wildcats. Auburn’s Steven Pearl, in his first season as the Tigers’ head coach after taking over from his father Bruce Pearl, watched his team take the ball with the game still alive. Elyjah Freeman tipped in a putback at 1.1 seconds. Auburn won 75-74.
Pope came to the podium and kept his public comments technically within the rules, barely. He didn’t name officials. He talked about power and control and refusing to give either away. He was clearly talking about something very specific.
“We refuse to give control to people that are outside of our program. Refuse,” Pope said. “Regardless of how personal it might get or how bad it might get, we refuse to give control to fans, to give control to anybody else associated with this game. Regardless of how blatantly people are trying to make this not happen, we refuse to give them our power. …
“We don’t make excuses. We don’t do that. Regardless of what is happening. Regardless of how disgraceful things are, we don’t give away our power. Regardless of how embarrassing, personal, awful, unacceptable things are, we refuse to give away our power.”
Then, on the way out, the mic caught what he actually thought. The coded speech went out the window, and the SEC had its case.
A Fine That Lands at the Worst Possible Time
Kentucky’s program is under strain it didn’t budget for. The Wildcats reportedly spent more than $20 million assembling their current roster, and the Auburn defeat was their third straight loss and fourth in seven games with Selection Sunday approaching.
Kentucky did snap the skid with a 72-63 win at South Carolina on Tuesday night, but the damage to the résumé is already done and the margin for error the rest of the way is razor-thin. Pope now navigates the stretch run with a public reprimand on his record and a fine he’ll remember every time there’s a contested call in a close game.
Whether or not the Chandler call was correct, the league’s response to what Pope said wasn’t up for debate.
He said his team wouldn’t give away its power. The SEC took a piece of it anyway, and they did it the same week Kentucky is fighting to stop the bleeding.
