Mark Pope Fined for His Suspiciously Loud Hot-Mic Officiating Moment

The Kentucky coach was not happy with the officiating following Saturday’s loss to Auburn.

Kentucky men's basketball coach Mark Pope earned a fine from the SEC for his comments about the officiating following Saturday's loss to Auburn. | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope was issued a public reprimand and fined $25,000 by the SEC for postgame comments he made in the wake of a loss to Auburn on Saturday night.

After falling to the Tigers 75–74, Pope was heard saying loudly on a hot mic, “[Athletic director] Mitch [Barnhart], if those mother------s try to fine me, screw them. I did not say a word about how they cheated us.”

Auburn had a seven-shot advantage at the free throw line and drew an offensive foul on Kentucky wing Collin Chandler in the waning moments that allowed Auburn to win the game on a go-ahead layup from Elyjah Freeman with less than a second to play in regulation.

As anticipated, Pope got his money’s worth, knowing full well that his very loud comments as he stepped away from the podium would be heard by the media. The SEC had no problem issuing that fine to Pope, whose Wildcats are now 17–10 and 8–6 in conference play. 

Kentucky is back on the floor Tuesday night against South Carolina.

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