What's the old adage? Nothing good happens past midnight? Last night, Kentucky players Terrence Jones and Stacey Poole were involved in a car accident at 2:30 in the morning. Jones and Poole's car was struck by another vehicle that had swerved into the wrong lane. The driver of the offending vehicle was reportedly under the influence and charged by police. Luckily, none of the parties sustained any serious injuries. Both players were checked at a local hospital and released.
In a statement on his website, Head Coach John Calipari has decided to enforce a curfew on the team as a result of this incident. He also noted that Jones did leave the scene of the accident for fear of altercation with the other driver, but had been sufficiently questioned by the police.
Our players did not break any rules by being out last night. As of yesterday, this team did not have a curfew and our normal procedure is to begin the season without one. I usually let the actions of my team determine a curfew. However, because of the actions of a select few, this team has showed me an inability to make proper judgment and decisions that they’ve been given the freedom to make.
Therefore, going forward, this team will now have a curfew for the rest of the season. I will inform the team of a time later today.
We hold our players to a higher standard at Kentucky. They must learn that they’ve been placed in a leadership role and that every action defines this team, this state and its fans. As always, any additional punishment will be handled within the team.