Sports
Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings Apologizes for Telling Player ‘I’ll Kill You’
Vanderbilt head basketball coach Kevin Stallings (AP/Wade Payne)
(USA Today) – Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings apologized for vulgar comments he made in an intense exchange with guard Wade Baldwin following the Commodores’ 73-65 victory against Tennessee.
Stallings was informed that Baldwin was clapping in Tennessee players’ faces after the final buzzer sounded. Upon learning of the poor sportsmanship, Stallings confronted Baldwin during postgame handshakes and demanded that he apologize. As Baldwin appeared to ignore the Vanderbilt coach, Stallings fired off several verbal jabs and was caught on camera saying, “I’ll (expletive) kill you.”
Stallings apologized for his comments in a release by the university.
“One of our players acted inappropriately and violated what we believe is good sportsmanship following the game,” Stallings said in the statement. “In my haste to resolve the situation, I made a very inappropriate comment. While obviously it was not meant literally, it was still inappropriate. I apologized to the player immediately following the game. Displaying good sportsmanship is of the highest priority in our program, win or lose. I am very remorseful of my actions tonight.”
