After much disappointment and because of an unfinished injury, the Memphis Tigers head coach decided to fire her.
Penny Hardaway, the head basketball coach of the Memphis Tigers men’s team, went viral on Thursday night, but not for the intended reasons.
A columnist and host of a radio talk show questioned Hardaway about his chances of winning in Memphis during his news conference following the game. And following the Tigers’ eighth loss of the year, Hardaway made it clear to everyone how much he disliked the line of questioning.
Hardaway yelled at the media following the SMU defeat on Thursday night.
Penny stated, in part, in a video that was uploaded to Twitter and other channels, “You all know that we don’t have our entire roster. Please quit baffling me with inane inquiries regarding my ability to accomplish things.”
The reaction followed a question from Memphis radio talk show host and sports columnist Geoff Calkins to Hardaway about whether he was ashamed by the team’s performance and if he had lost faith in his ability to succeed at Memphis.
This is Penny’s whole answer to the query that enraged him.
“I believe the one thing I can say about this media is that, when it comes to me, it can be f****d up at times. Not everyone on our roster is here. You are aware that our roster is not complete. Please stop f***ing asking me whether I feel like I can accomplish anything. I feel like I can achieve anything I want to do if I have my roster like they did. My boys are playing and coaching with great intensity, and I’m not ashamed of anything. Four freshmen were starting for us. You all must behave accordingly. Act as though we had players who are 17, 18, and 19 years old attempting to learn how to compete against men who are 22, 23, and 24 years old. Man, please stop treating me badly, bro. Avoid doing that. I work way too hard for it. I work way too f***ing hard. All I do is work, and you guys publish these b***s*** articles about me. There are small children on the floor.”
Calkins chatted with FOX13 one day following Hardaway’s meltdown.
“We don’t really know if Penny can finish the task. Calkins remarked, “I believe that everyone in Memphis is pulling for him to finish the job.
Memphis suffered its third consecutive loss on Thursday night. In the previous 12 games, it was their eighth defeat.
“It’s okay for you to get angry. I’ve become angry in front of people. I don’t think what happened last night will have any bearing on what happens in the future. For all coaches, it is the same. Is he able to finish games? He will have every opportunity to heal because he is Penny Hardaway, Calkins added.
A team that doesn’t seem to be playing as a unit was the item that Tigers supporters were complaining about even before Thursday night’s defeat.
In each of their eight losses, Memphis has been the underdog.
In actuality, the majority of us who are being compelled to pose difficult questions regarding Penny were fully in favor of his hiring and believed he would be the solution for this program. It brought up, among other things, the question of whether we were all mistaken, according to Calkins.
Tulsa, in last place, will play Memphis on Sunday afternoon. In Tulsa, the Tigers haven’t triumphed since March 2012.
