Rick Pitino statement/excuses for actions Saturday during Kentucky vs Louisville

Well, Rick Pitino has finally released a statement on his actions during Saturday's heated rivalry game between Kentucky and Louisville...sort of.

Those actions included skipping the postgame press conference and flipping a fan off as he was leaving the court. First, Pitino made sure to point out how Kentucky's lucky three-pointers were what won the game.

"Well, it certainly was another disappointing loss, but give our opponent credit. They made some three-pointers from nearly the midcourt logo."

Yeah Rick. Kentucky did make some lucky three-pointers, but I think it's safe to think those 2-3 long threes UK made at least made up for the loss of losing Isaiah Briscoe before the game even started. He alone is worth 12-16 points per game from his impact on the defensive/offensive end, but yeah, those lucky threes man.

But wait Rick. I thought Kentucky won because of all the fouls called on Louisville and Kentucky clubbing his players with nothing called...

After that, Pitino wanted to set the record straight about not doing the postgame press conference he skipped out on and sent assistant coach Ralph Willard to do.

"I told Kenny Klein and Paul Rogers 24 hours before the game that it didn’t matter, win or lose, I would speak to our fans through our postgame radio interview and Ralph would speak with the media. I’ve done the same after a victory at home. It is an ACC rule for me to do the postgame interviews for league games, but not for non-conference games.

"But let’s get to the truth of why. Once every two years, it’s an extremely emotional and difficult experience for me to coach in Rupp Arena. I knew that when I accepted the job at Louisville, but it’s never easy. We give them credit for the victory and we hope to grow after the loss."

So, Pitino never directly denies or acknowledges the postgame bird-flipping he appeared to do, but seems to be leaving room for the excuse of "it’s an extremely emotional and difficult experience" causing him to react that way.

Which is ironic, since Pitino says he never gets into the Kentucky vs Louisville rivalry aspect.

I thought T.J. summed it up best:

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT IS TO BE A HIGHLY PAID COACH & HAVE TO CONDUCT YOURSELF PROFESSIONALLY ONCE EVERY TWO YEARS AT RUPP?

— T.J. Beisner (@Beisner_cn2) December 28, 2015

HAVE A HEART PEOPLE.

— T.J. Beisner (@Beisner_cn2) December 28, 2015