Rick Pitino Says He Did Not Make Obscene Gesture at Kentucky Fans Following Loss

Louisville basketball head coach Rick Pitino denied making an obscene gesture toward fans at Rupp Arena following the Cardinals' 75-73 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday afternoon. 

"No I didn't flip off the fans," Pitino said in a text message to ESPN.com, per Dana O'Neil. "I was in the tunnel. People were yelling ugly crude things that I didn't like. The 1-8 comment [Pitino's record against John Calipari-coached Kentucky teams] was fine. But the other comments I didn't like.''

You can view the gesture in question below, courtesy of Twitter user Seiver Tandy:

According to O'Neil, Pitino described the gesture, via text message, as follows: "My recollection was a, 'we r #1.'"

Pitino, a former Kentucky head coach himself, also reportedly failed to show for his postgame press conference with reporters. Instead, the Louisville boss opted to send associate head coach Ralph Willard to the podium. However, O'Neil reported that decision was made prior to the game, according to team spokesman Kenny Klein. 

Saturday's intrastate showdown was a thriller, as No. 16 Louisville hung tough with an uber-talented Wildcats squad. Down two, Cardinals guard Damion Lee—who led all scorers with 27 points—missed a go-ahead three-pointer with two seconds remaining to hand No. 12 Kentucky the win. 

As his comments to O'Neil indicated, Pitino has historically struggled in matchups against the Wildcats—and Calipari in particular—so it's easy to see why he would be frustrated. 

At this rate, Pitino has to be pining for a shot at the Wildcats in the NCAA tournament—when the stakes will be raised and a title could be within reach.