Louisville head coach Rick Pitino had to be restrained from going after a North Carolina fan while heading into the tunnel at halftime of his team’s game in Chapel Hill on Wednesday.
Pitino’s Cardinals entered halftime trailing the Tar Heels 33-30 in a close ACC game. It’s unclear what the fan said to enrage him, but Pitino was clearly fired up and had to be held back by some of his assistants:
Rick Pitino is very displeased with a UNC fan pic.twitter.com/z4bYUuyMw6
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) February 23, 2017
ESPN's video of Pitino incident and Maria Taylor's explanation pic.twitter.com/bBxP0A16K7
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) February 23, 2017
Pitino was fiery throughout the first half of the game, so it’s not too surprising he was heated at halftime.
It seems like Louisville tried to address the issue with the fan:
U of L support staff just came out with UNC staff and the cops in the corner of the stands where fans/Pitino exchanged words.
— Jeff Greer (@jeffgreer_cj) February 23, 2017
The fan was ejected. According to ESPN’s broadcast, the fan shouted, “Pitino, you suck!”
This isn’t the first time Pitino’s had an issue with opposing fans. There were questions last season about whether or not he flipped off Kentucky fans while heading into the tunnel (see it here).
