Billy Napier attempts to clarify ‘basement’ comments; ESPN personality shreds Florida coach for ‘cardinal sin’
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Billy Napier is seeking to clarify his recent press conference comments that went viral and prompted widespread criticism.
On Wednesday, Napier said he failed to convey the message he was going for when he referenced criticism coming from “what some guy in his basement in rural Central Florida is saying on social media.”
“Terrible choice of words. I think obviously didn’t explain myself the way I should have there.,” Napier said, per Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun. “I think the question was about, how do we help our players and our staff manage maybe criticism and adversity and noise, maybe on the outside, in particular, social media. So yeah, people have told me about that, obviously. I want to make it very clear that was not my intention there.”
Napier also took issue with the widely used interpretation that his comments were aimed at critical fans. The head coach noted that he never used the word “fans” in his defense.
“There was no reference to our fans,” Napier said, per The Sun. “I was just thinking talking specifically about life in general. I think our young people live in an era where social media is a part of their lives. And I think it’s critical if we listen too much to the wrong voice, no matter who that is in life …
“We have to keep perspective for our players. And I was in no way referencing fans, you know? I’m thinking about just our young people in general here. I would never do that or be critical of our fans.”
The damage is often done once a quote goes viral. Napier’s basement comments came during his Monday press conference.
“We got to go to work on the football part, we have to become a more consistent team and we have to execute better,” Napier said. “If we can focus on those things and not necessarily on what some guy in his basement in rural Central Florida is saying on social media, then we got a chance to get better.”
: Florida HC Billy Napier throws an insult at Gator fans during his press conference.
“If we can focus on those things and not what some guy in his basement in rural Central Florida is saying on social media, then we’ve got a chance to get better, right?” pic.twitter.com/V2GSV5y45s
— Geo Milian (@GeoMilian) September 2, 2024
It was pointed out that Napier added, “Sometimes we deserve criticism. I have no excuses,” but the video clip spread far and wide. Fans mocked the suggestion of basements in Central Florida. SEC Network host Paul Finebaum blasted the embattled Gator head coach.
“Simply egregious, I mean here’s a guy who is really down to his last breath,” Finebaum said on Tuesday’s Get Up. “He’s lost more games in two seasons and one game in the Swamp than Steve Spurrier lost in 12 years and he is going after his own fan base? Those folks who go to Walmart and buy Gators jerseys and beg and plead for tickets to his games? I mean that is one of the most inexcusable shots I have ever seen.”
ESPN’s Mike Greenberg took the Napier criticism a few steps further on Wednesday, per Awful Announcing, saying the Florida coach won’t recover from the verbal misstep.
“You take shots at your own fans? Let’s cover the obvious first; he doesn’t even know the territory that he represents,” Greenberg said. “You cannot have a basement in Florida. That’s the first part of this, OK? The old, ‘Sitting in his mother’s basement,’ which is the most tired of cliches, generalizations, etc., in sports or beyond, doesn’t apply in Florida. There’s too much water; it’s a swamp. Your stadium is literally called ‘The Swamp,’ and you cannot put basements underneath them. So, this does not apply either literally or figuratively.
“But beyond that, and I’ve said this a million times, and I’ll say it a million more, those fans you’re criticizing, their passion is the reason you have that job. Their passion is the reason you get paid as much money as you get paid. Those fans who save up their money, not the ones that sit in the corporate suites, not the ones that make huge donations to the University; they’re not the ones criticizing you on Twitter. The ones who are criticizing you on social media are the ones that save up their money to travel to one game a year, who give their kids for Christmas, Florida jerseys, all that kind of stuff.
“They’re people that have been there long before you got there, and they’re gonna be there long after you’re gone. For you, this is a job — and I get it — it’s important. And I get criticism stinks, but it comes with the territory. And if you’re gonna fire back on your own fans, you have lost; it is over. Billy Napier is already out of Florida. It is just a question of when they decide to make it official. You do not win your fans back after this. No coach ever goes after the fans and gets it back again. To me, this is the cardinal sin.”
Napier’s Wednesday explanation is likely to do little to quiet the criticism.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
