Kentucky Basketball head coach Mark Pope has been issued a public reprimand and fined $25,000 by the SEC for postgame conduct and comments related to officiating following the Wildcats’ game at Auburn on February 21, the league announced Tuesday.
The comments violated SEC Bylaw 10.5.3 and the SEC Commissioner’s Regulation regarding Public Criticism of Officials, which prohibit coaches, student-athletes, and institutional staff from publicly criticizing officials or disclosing officiating-related communications.
The comments in question were made about a Collin Chandler offensive foul with 14 seconds remaining in regulation with Kentucky clinging to a 74-73 lead. Chandler pushed off on Auburn defender Kevin Overton (who sold it with an obvious flop) and was called for an offensive foul, which gave the Tigers the ball, and they went on to score the game-winning shot with 1.1 seconds remaining.
And after his postgame presser, Pope could be heard yelling in the hallway about being fined by the SEC.
“Mitch (Barnhart), if those MFers try to fine me, screw them. I didn’t say a word about how they cheated us,” said Pope.
So much for not getting fined.
