Rick Pitino: ‘I didn’t flip off fans’
Shortly after the game ended, social media was abuzz with a video posted to Twitter that purported to show Louisville Coach Rick Pitino holding up his middle finger to fans as he left the Rupp Arena court.
In the video, Pitino is looking down as he walks off the court and into the tunnel. As he goes through the tunnel, fans can be heard shouting. Pitino extends his right arm in the air.
U of L spokesman Kenny Klein was shown the video and told the Herald-Leader that it was not conclusive.
“I can’t tell anything from that video,” Klein said. “It’s difficult to comment on something that you can’t specifically see.”
Pitino told ESPN in a text message later Saturday that he did not make an obscene gesture. “I didn’t flip off fans,” he said. “My recollection was a ‘We r #1.’”
Herald-Leader reporter Ben Roberts contributed to this article.
This story was originally published December 26, 2015 at 6:49 PM with the headline "Rick Pitino: ‘I didn’t flip off fans’."