Vicky Graff Photo
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops irritated a lot of UK fans and garnered national attention he probably did not want with his comment about fans needing to “pony up” more NIL money for the football program after a 51-13 loss at Georgia.
He said that in response to a fan question on his weekly radio show last week and took time Monday on the show this week to clarify what he said after his team lost 38-21 to Missouri to fall to 5-2.
“Last week, what bothered me? JMI — I’m sorry, I just have to be boring from now on. I tried to be honest and just talk, just have a little fun on this radio show. I talk Saturday at the game, Monday press conference — I own my stuff,” Stoops told Tom Leach on the show.
“Sometimes when you’re in these shows you just want to talk back and forth with fans, you want to be honest and open. I don’t like it when just a sliver gets out there and people want to take a little piece of what I say and blow it out of proportion.”
Stoops has never been one to hide from criticism. He might not embrace it — who does — but he also understands it comes with the job and increased expectations that he has brought to UK football.
“I’ve been around, sat right here for 11 years. Fire away at these calls,” Stoops told Leach during his coach’s show. “It’s not like I was one bit ruffled, I was just sitting here having a conversation.
“There’s gonna be good, there’s gonna be bad. There are gonna be upset fans, and they have every right. They’re fans, I love and appreciate them. They wouldn’t be real fans if they didn’t have some highs and lows.”
