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Oh, Courtney Banghart. Here we go again.
The UNC-Chapel Hill women's basketball coach has once again intentionally inserted her foot into her mouth with comments toward NC State. During an interview with George AKA "The British Tar Heel" on The Tar Heel Show, Banghart was asked which team she enjoys beating more between NC State and Duke.
Rather than going with a "coach speak" answer, Banghart gave her true, unfiltered thoughts on both Duke and NC State. It entailed calling NC State fans "classless," saying that Duke is more relevant than the back-to-back-to-back ACC Champions and claiming that she doesn't like going to Raleigh because State fans are "mean."
While the interview on YouTube has suddenly gone private at the moment -- and the podcast has a suspicious cut point at the 25:35 mark -- here's a look at Banghart's full answer before it got taken down.
Oh, Courtney Banghart…She calls NC State fans “classless” and says Duke WBB is more relevant than the back-to-back-to-back ACC Champions.And she doesn’t like playing at NC State’s small gym because the fans are “just mean to us.” ???? pic.twitter.com/GbyVZJZAD3
— Cory Smith (@RCorySmith) August 15, 2022
"You're asking me who I hate less," Banghart said. "That's like, 'Who's your favorite child?' ... Duke is a national and international rival that I love. NC State fans are so classless I just don't even like going there. They're the same. I guess I have more respect for Duke, but I like beating them because they're more relevant. NC State is just mean to each other -- to us and to each other."
Shortly after the above clip was posted to Twitter, Banghart released a statement through the UNC women's basketball Twitter account.
“While intending to keep the competitive energy fueled between two passionate fan bases, I took it too far," Banghart wrote in the statement. "I carelessly used the word ‘classless’ in reference to the passionate fans of N.C. State and I deeply regret my word choice. It doesn’t accurately depict my feelings, for one, and there is no place for name-calling. That said, I want to publicly apologize, first and foremost, to the players and coaches who have worked tirelessly to be great at N.C. State.
"I also want to apologize to the Wolfpack fan base. I have the utmost respect for the uniqueness of the rivalries in our state as they help our game be great. Everyone involved in my program, N.C. State’s program and the communities at both schools deserves better. And you will get it from me moving forward.”
Look, I get it. Poking the bear is fun when it riles up a fan base and makes the discussion about women's basketball relevant in August, several months before the start of the season. But when that team has won nine out of the last 12 games and just pummeled your team by 27 points in its "Small Gym" last season, maybe pick your battles a little more wisely.
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