Pitt issues public reprimand on basketball coach Jeff Capel for comments on officiating

PITTSBURGH — Jeff Capel knew his words would get him in trouble, and the consequences came in the form of a public reprimand by Pitt Sunday night.

“The University of Pittsburgh has issued a public reprimand of head men’s basketball coach Jeff Capel for violating the ACC Sportsmanship Principle following Pitt’s game at Clemson Saturday, March 6,” Pitt released in a statement. “Coach Capel accepts full accountability for his actions, understands the consequences of the comments and has spoken privately to the appropriate parties involved.”

The comments Capel made after the Pitt’s loss to Clemson on Saturday criticized ACC officials for applying what Capel saw as a ‘double standard’ against the Panthers for the last two seasons, and especially this season.

His comments were considered a violation of the ACC Sportsmanship Principle that states: “Public criticism of officials or public comments evaluating the officiating of particular contests is not in the best interest of intercollegiate athletics. Individuals associated with the athletics program are prohibited, therefore, from commenting while acting in an official capacity on officiating other than directly to the Conference office.”

During those comments, Capel made it clear that he knew he would be reprimanded for what he was saying. Throughout several points of the season he had referenced his history of playing and coaching in the ACC and how he understood that star players got preferential treatment on foul calls, but how it seemed Justin Champagnie wasn’t getting that despite leading the ACC in scoring for most of the season, finishing second behind Duke’s Matt Hurt, and finishing with the most rebounds in the conference.

Read this full article at our partners, DKPittsburghSports.com.

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