Vanderbilt men’s basketball coach Kevin Stallings has apologized for threatening a player during a win over Tennessee on Thursday night.
During the postgame handshakes, Stallings was informed that Freshman guard Wade Baldwin IV was clapping in the faces of opposing players after the final buzzer sounded. Stallings berated Baldwin and at one point could be heard saying, “I’ll f—ing kill you!”
Stallings issued an apology after the game.
“One of our players acted inappropriately and violated what we believe is good sportsmanship following the game,” he said in a statement, via USA Today Sports. “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.”
Prior to apologizing, Stallings told reporters in his postgame press conference that he was unhappy with the way Baldwin acted and that the youngster has some “growing up to do.” Baldwin made it clear that he did not take the tongue lashing personally.
Coach Stallings is the best coach in America. I felt no offense to anything. We are both fiery people and that's why I chose Vandy
— Wade Baldwin IV (@The_Fourth_Wade) February 27, 2015
Could Stallings have chosen his words more carefully? Sure, but we have seen coaches treat players a lot worse than that (remember this guy?). He should not have threatened to kill a player, but it would have been much worse if he was berating Stallings for poor play. Mocking opponents after a loss isn’t exactly classy.
