Pittsburgh basketball coach mocks Louisville bribery scandal after blowout loss: ‘At least we didn’t pay our guys $100,000’

Keith Srakocic/AP

• Pittsburgh men’s basketball coach Kevin Stallings said to Louisville fans on Tuesday, “At least we didn’t pay our guys $100,000.”
• The comment was a reference to the college basketball bribery investigation that alleged Louisville was one of several schools to funnel money to land prospects.
• After the game, Stallings said he was sticking up for one of his players that was heckled by Louisville fans.

Pittsburgh men’s basketball head coach Kevin Stallings got the last laugh on Tuesday with a brutal burn after his team lost 77-51 to Louisville.

Toward the end of the game, Stallings was heard by reporters yelling at fans, “At least we didn’t pay our guys $100,000″ and “We didn’t pay our guys 100 grand, though.”

The comment was a reference to the bribery scandal at Louisville that cost Rick Pitino his job. An ongoing FBI investigation revealed in September that several colleges, including Louisville, had been funneling money to land prospects. The investigation alleged that Louisville paid $100,000 to a prospect named Brian Bowen.

Asked after the game about his comments, Stallings said he was sticking up for his players after they were heckled by Louisville fans.

“Somebody said something bad about one of my players, so I’m just gonna stick up for my players,” Stallings said. “Probably said the wrong thing, but I’m not gonna let people talk crap about my players.”

Louisville’s interim head coach David Padgett shrugged off the incident after the game, saying Louisville has been subjected to heckling at road games all season long due to the scandal and investigation.