Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski apologizes to student reporter following heated response
Duke Blue Devils men's basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski called to apologize to a student reporter after Coach K delivered a harsh response to a question following Saturday's 70-65 loss to the Louisville Cardinals.
Jake Piazza of the Duke Chronicle student newspaper asked Krzyzewski about Duke's "next step forward" coming off a latest loss, and the legendary coach snapped back with a long retort.
As ESPN's Myron Medcalf pointed out, Duke has lost three consecutive games and sits at 5-5 overall and 3-3 in conference play. Last week, the Blue Devils fell out of the Associated Press men's basketball top 25 for the first time since Feb. 8, 2016, and they are in legitimate danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time in more than 25 years.
"Our call was short, but the sincerity in his apology was genuine," Piazza wrote in a piece published on Monday. "And in the end, I appreciated the call.
"What I will remember most from this weekend, however, is the support from all the journalists (both sports and non-sports) who reached out or replied on Twitter, and I can’t thank everyone enough for that. As a young journalist figuring the industry out, it was a tremendous confidence-booster to see so many other people in the field encouraging me to keep asking questions, and I fully plan on doing so."
Krzyzewski made headlines in December when he questioned the NCAA holding basketball seasons amid the COVID-19 pandemic and canceled multiple nonconference games so his players and staff could return home for the holidays.
More must-reads: