Pat Narduzzi responds after being fined $5k for criticizing officials

Pitt Head Coach Pat Narduzzi has responded after the ACC fined him $5,000 for comments he made after the Panthers thrilling win in the Backyard Brawl against West Virginia Saturday.

“We beat West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl,” said Narduzzi after the game. “And we beat the officials, too.”

After the game, Narduzzi was asked to expand on his comments about beating West Virginia and Big 12 officials.

“I'm not going to get into it,” he said. “Big 12 officials. I thought there were some calls that I can't wait to watch the videotape. But after the game, it's over with. But we had two large victories today.”

On Sunday, The ACC released a statement saying they have fined Narduzzi and that his comments “were in direct violation of the ACC Sportsmanship Policy.”

“Public criticism of officials or public comments evaluating the officiating of particular contests is not in the best interest of intercollegiate athletics,” the statement says. “Individuals associated with the athletics program are prohibited, therefore, from commenting while acting in an official capacity on officiating other than directly to the Conference office.”

On Monday, Narduzzi released the following statement:

“Saturday was an exciting and emotional win for Pitt. I’m proud of the way our team responded to the challenge to earn a hard-fought victory. I take responsibility for my postgame comments and, like the ACC, consider this matter over and done with.”

Funds from the $5,000 fine will go into the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship account.