Pittman Admits He Didn't Even Know TV Was in Locker Room

Viral video of players watching "Polar Express" caught Razorbacks coach unaware

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Nov 13, 2023 3:22 PM EST
Original:
Nov 13, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — If you haven't seen the viral video of the Arkansas walk-on players watching the movie "Polar Express" during halftime of Saturday's 48-10 loss to Auburn, you are probably in the minority. Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman didn't even know it was going on.

"I didn't even know there was a TV in there," he said at his normal Monday press conference.

Yes, fans were expecting some big announcement on his job status, but there was no announcement about that, which probably provides clues as to what's going on behind the scenes. With Texas A&M and Mississippi State having coaching vacancies, the Hogs may be wanting to work a little more discreet.

It sounded Monday like Pittman didn't know what was going on with the whole uproar. He tries to reward some of the non-scholarship players who have practiced well by letting them dress out and run through the A before a game starts. They are in a completely separate room from the regular players with a separate door.

"I haven't seen 'Polar Express' so I don't really know my thoughts on the movie," Pittman said. "The young man made a mistake and I've already addressed it with him. That's why you don't want cameras in the locker room ... for several reasons. It's hard because the music is on as well. That's a team rule (you don't watch movies), but it's also a team rule that you don't post anything after Friday night."

To completely cover all the bases here, this player also didn't do the posting on social media. As tends to happen in this day and age, it got passed from one person to another and ended up being posted by someone who probably didn't even know the player to start with.

"The young man made a mistake, sent it to a friend, his friend sent it to his brother and the brother put it out," Pittman said. "I've already addressed it and I think we're fine there. It was just a mistake that a young man made. He came in, was sorry for it, very remorseful for it and we're going to move on."

And while Pittman may be ready to move on, fans are making the best of a bad situation through the magic of Photoshop.

Now that we've gotten to the bottom of that whole non-story, that sounds like the best idea of all. The Hogs will kick off against Florida International on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU and fuboTV.