Pat Summitt mural on ‘The Rock’ defaced with eye patch
A mural depicting late Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville was defaced on Wednesday, but it was restored later in the day.
Tennessee has a public landmark on campus called “The Rock” which is often painted on multiple times per day. After Summitt’s death in late June, Tennessee student Payton Miller painted a mural of Summitt on “The Rock.” The painting lasted for nearly a month untouched until Wednesday, when it was defaced with an eye patch and more.
Someone defaced the portrait of Pat Summitt on The Rock today. It has already been fixed. pic.twitter.com/ZQYrLTvWw6
— Kelsey Leyrer (@WVLTKelsey) August 10, 2016
Vols fans were incensed by the disrespect and sent in photos to WVLT in Knoxville, which reports that the mural was restored.
Summitt won eight national championships at Tennessee and a record 1,098 games for the school. She died on June 28 at the age of 64.
Here was the original mural painted by Miller in July:
Rest in peace, Coach. #TNLegend pic.twitter.com/TXbgbZbfNz
— Payton Marie Miller (@PaytonMarie03) July 14, 2016