Auburn basketball assistant coach Steven Pearl cooked Tennessee fans in between the Vols' embarrassing 73-56 SEC Tournament loss to Mississippi State and AU's own 86-55 win over South Carolina.
“I mean, I was walking to the game today and some Tennessee fans asked me if I was going to a barbecue, trying to throw a little shade," Pearl prefaced before saying, "And that’s what we watched. Mississippi State barbecued Tennessee. A bunch of grown men went out there and just punked Tennessee, and Tennessee’s a hard team to punk.”
Tennessee fans won't live down losing Bruce Pearl in the fashion they did, and most certainly won't live it down should Pearl lead the Tigers to the promised land.
Recruiting violations led to Bruce Pearl's Tennessee exit
In 2011, Tennessee received a notice of allegations for violations related to his Vols program. As ESPN's Andy Katz pointed out, multiple Tennessee programs were sanctioned.
"Tennessee received its notice of allegations from the NCAA Tuesday detailing infractions by the men's basketball, football and baseball teams, according to sources with knowledge of the situation." Katz prefaced before saying, "The heaviest charge of unethical conduct is expected to be levied against basketball coach Bruce Pearl for misleading investigators over a barbecue at his house when prospective student-athletes were juniors.
"According to sources, the notice of allegations also will include the football program under former coach Lane Kiffin. The baseball team also is under investigation. The investigation was delayed because it involved more than one sport."
It all came out in the wash for Pearl, who now has built an irreplicable legacy on the Plains. Perhaps Vols fans will one day see peace as well.
Not during SEC Tournament weekend in Nashville with Steven Pearl cooking Tennessee's fanbase after going at the king and missing badly.