Mark Pope explained how he coaches his players to deal with social media criticism

One topic that has been discussed a lot lately in Lexington is how the fan base is talking to some of the basketball players. After the three exhibition games, Kentucky's point guard Zoom Diallo actually disabled his Instagram account, and fans felt that this was due to negative fan interactions and messages.

This has led to a lot of talk about this topic from the media of late, and fans shared their opinions on the matter. After the Wildcats took down the Jaspers of Manhattan on opening night, Coach Pope was asked about this topic.

Nov 3, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Zoom Diallo (5) acknowledges the crowd during the second half against the Manhattan Jaspers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Here is what Pope had to say about how his team deals with social media criticism: " The only opinion that matters to us is the one in our locker room. And we practice that. We actually talk about it. We’ve broken that down in 100 different ways. We probably address it every day or every other day in film sessions where it comes up somehow, and we talk about it. You know, you have two options with criticism. You can let the criticism have an impact on you in a negative way, or you can take criticism and it can be something that solidifies a group together. Everybody’s going to face criticism, it’s part of the world today and it’s part of life. But we are not scared of it. We’ve got work to do and we are focused on the work and we are focused on winning. And so, that’s where we spend our time."

I do agree with Coach Pope that in every aspect of life, people are going to receive criticism. It is important for his players to understand that, but at the same time they need to learn to tune it out and not let it bother them.

Nov 3, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts during the first half against the Manhattan Jaspers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

I feel that players should just try to stay off of social media if they are going to let fan interactions get to them. It's a tough world to live in, but in every fan base there are folks who are going to try and bring their own players down.

What the fan base needs to hear is that there is never an excuse to send a negative direct message to a player. As fans, the job of BBN is to build these players up, not chop them down. Coach Pope seems to have a good handle on how to train his players to deal with this.

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