Did Rick Pitino Really Give a UK Fan the Middle Finger After Losing To Kentucky?

Louisville head coach Rick Pitino possibly may have raised his middle finger to a Kentucky fan.

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Complex Original

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The No. 16-ranked Louisville Cardinals lost in a tight game to their bitter interstate rival No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats, 75-73, in Rupp Arena on Saturday. There is no question that these two teams hate each other. Also, it's not even up for discussion that many of the UK faithful perceive Louisville head coach Rick Pitino as a Benedict Arnold since he returned to the coaching ranks in the Bluegrass State in 2001 to helm the Cards, just five seasons after he led the Wildcats to their 1996 NCAA Championship.

The question after today's game regarding Pitino is whether he actually flipped off an obnoxious fan who yelled at the Basketball Hall of Famer on his way into the tunnel to his team's locker room. 

"The Bird" is the word right now about Coach Pitino, and it appears that he's throwing up a fist after the fan yells "ONE-AND-DONE!" It's hard to tell exactly whether true or false if they gave the fan The Bird in the video above, but here's a still from the video clip to help you make the call. 

 

Is he throwing up a fist pump like Arsenio Hall, showing his 2013 Louisville championship ring, or is he gesturing the ultimate sign of acknowledgement to the hater talkin' greasy?  Pitino would later deflect the speculation after his card was pulled on the situation (every pun intended) via text to ESPN about the gesture. "No I didn't flip off the fans. I was in the tunnel. People were yelling ugly crude things that I didn't like." Pitino continued, "The 1-8 comment was fine. But the other comments I didn't like.'' The 1-8 comment refers to Pitino's coaching record against UK coach John Calipari's squads. Pitino summed up the fist pump to the fans in the stands: "My recollection was a, 'we r #1.'"

If I was Rick, and you diss me on the way out, I'm throwing up something in the air of pride. Maybe a peace sign to signify that I got not just one, but two NCAA championship rings— one with the Wildcats, and another with the Cardinals.

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[via SportingNews]

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