I cannot believe there are fans that are ok with CAL or any other collegiate coach saying things like that. The next coach we have could start a "Team/University First" thing and the same ones that think Cal can do or say no wrong would be defend it just like they do this crap, and that is exactly what it is. We as fans were here long before Cal and will be here long after him. ..that's the way I see it.
You discovered our dirty secret!
We give great coaches leeway if their worst offense in 6 years is a mildly controversial quote!
Eeyores, please pay attention to the post I'm quoting and to this response.
For a hypothetical coach at UK:
1. He can talk about how he is players first as long as he takes great care of the program (wins, off court issues minimized, etc)
or
2. He can talk about how he is program first as long as he takes great care of the players (not abusing them like Gillispie, getting them to class, etc)
As long as he's performing like one of the best coaches in the game, neither of these approaches should bother a rational fan.
In fact, as long as he's performing like one of the best coaches in the game, and this is an example of one of his "worst offenses" at UK, then it's the detractors who are irrational.
Some of you idiots are so thirsty to take him down, you probably wouldn't know what to do with yourselves if he actually did something that was objectively bad, a serious thing like Pitino/Knight.
Or hell, even just one of those mean-spirited quotes like Calhoun or Gillispie used to give every press conference where he'd try to make student reporters cry.
If that happened, 3rex could cancel his cialis perscription. Guy would just walk around town with a permanent tent pitched in his pants.