CHICAGO — Eddie Fogler, the former South Carolina and Vanderbilt coach now working as an analyst for CBS TV, landed in a controversy Sunday resulting from expletives he scribbled on a telestrator — over a shot of the parents of Georgia players Jarvis and Jonas Hayes.
The incident occurred during a timeout. The offensive scribbling from Fogler — “mf’’ and “a--hole’’ — appeared over a shot of the parents sitting in the stands.
Fogler’s offensive words were not shown on the TV feed. However, the picture was seen in the press room and on press row at the United Center and possibly on closed circuit feeds elsewhere.
In a hastily arranged interview session after the game, Fogler insisted he was intending to say only good things about the Hayes twins and bemoaning the fact that he didn’t benefit from the players transfer from Western Carolina.
“I was saying why couldn’t Mr. Hayes call me; why couldn’t I be so lucky, even though I am an a --hole?’’ Fogler said.
“In the timeout, I wrote on the telestrator ‘a--hole me,’ ’’ he said. “That’s the truth of it. I’m an a--hole. I wrote that referring to myself.’’
However, it appeared to many observers Fogler wrote “mf’’ followed by an exclamation mark.
Fogler said he “had no idea’’ that anything he wrote on the telestrator during a timeout could be seen by others.
“C’mon, I’m stupid, but I’m not that stupid,’’ he said.
Fogler said he apologized to the parents, James and Yvonne Hayes, though he admitted the apology may not have been accepted.
“He is disappointed, and I totally understand his disappointment,’’ Fogler said.
Yvonne Hayes met with Harrick after the game.
Said Harrick: “I just heard about that. I don’t know enough about it.’’
Georgia assistant coach James Holland advised Jonas and Jarvis Hayes to
avoid comment on the matter.
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