Coach Ok lashes out at scholar reporter after Duke’s third straight loss
Issues will not be going nicely for the Duke males’s basketball crew proper now. They’re 5-5 and dropped their third straight recreation on Saturday night time with a 70-65 loss to Louisville.
You’d anticipate coach Mike Krzyzewski, some of the revered coaches within the recreation, to offer well-practiced solutions to questions throughout his postgame information convention. He’s been doing this for greater than 40 years, so he clearly is aware of find out how to give diplomatic however respectful solutions after a tricky loss.
Not on Saturday night time, although. A scholar named Jake Piazza, who writes for the Duke Chronicle, requested Coach Ok what’s subsequent for the crew after three straight losses. Coach Ok didn’t just like the query and instantly let Piazza realize it.
Coach Ok lashes out at scholar reporter
As an alternative of answering Piazza’s query, Coach Ok determined to belittle him for being a scholar. He pointedly requested Piazza what his hardest class is, after which used that as an excuse to not reply the query.
It was an outsized and stunning response. Piazza’s query was cheap and crucial, and one which Coach Ok has been requested most likely a thousand occasions — actually. Duke is a program with a historical past of success below Coach Ok, and this 5-5 begin is uncharacteristic. Each fan needs to know what Coach Ok goes to do now and the way he’s going to repair the crew’s points.
However Coach Ok wasn’t within the temper to tolerate regular questions on Saturday night time, or a minimum of a traditional query from a scholar reporter. For no matter motive, he determined that Piazza didn’t deserve a solution to his query, and didn’t need to be handled with the identical respect as different reporters.
Criticism flies at Coach Ok for conduct towards scholar reporter
When the video of Coach Ok’s pissy reply appeared on Twitter, individuals got here to Piazza’s protection whereas mentioning how “classless” and pointless Coach Ok’s response was.
Coach Ok going after scholar reporters for a very legitimate query is about probably the most classless factor I can think about a coach in his place doing. Properly, exterior opting out of a season for again surgical procedure, anyway https://t.co/pvIgGf298V
— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) January 24, 2021
I don’t know Coach Ok, however I can’t stand how we’ve got to faux that many all-time coaches don’t typically act like jerks. Simply reply the coed’s query. It wasn’t that onerous. https://t.co/NmQ7eJTiqs
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) January 24, 2021
That is unbelievable. Any faculty coach I’ve ever interacted with in a working capability has handled me w/ the identical quantity of respect as another full-time skilled media member (which I drastically admire & worth). Coach Ok owes this scholar a honest apology after which some. https://t.co/UEjvtROa60
— William Galloway (@Wm_Galloway) January 24, 2021
At any time when of us inform me that Coach Ok is a “chief of males,” I simply take into consideration nights like tonight the place he makes an absolute ass of himself because the quickest signal of adversity. https://t.co/4g0gkseely
— UNC Humor (@UNC_Humor) January 24, 2021
Coach Ok has most likely been requested this query 1,000,000 occasions and will reply it on autopilot if he wished to, so this simply wasn’t a very good look. https://t.co/AGpRO8VF03
— D.J. Quick (@djshort) January 24, 2021
Masking Jim Boeheim for 2 years in faculty, I noticed a grouchy coach reluctantly reply questions from a scholar reporter a time or two. However this man Coach Ok stinks. What a horrible approach to reply that query. https://t.co/LkMYNpt3Yb
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) January 24, 2021
Coach Ok has but to reply to the criticism. Fortunately, it doesn’t appear like the ordeal has postpone Piazza, although it was apparently the primary query he ever requested Coach Ok throughout a postgame information convention.
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