There is generally mutual respect among college basketball coaches, but Alabama’s Nate Oats recently fired shots at Duke Blue Devils HC Mike Krzyzewski at a press conference, and the news quickly went viral. However, Oats has now apologized for targeting Krzyzewski and that seems like the right way to go about it. 

For readers who are unaware, Nate Oats was annoyed by the Blue Devils’ recent decision to cancel its games, and he targeted Krzyzewski in a post-game presser last week. Here’s what he said: 

“Do you think if Coach K hadn’t lost the two nonconference games at home, he’d still be saying that?” Oats enquired. “I think we’d have a whole lot more problems if we weren’t playing games.”

Now Oats made this statement a few days ago, but he quickly came out and issued an apology to set things right. The 46-year-old regretted his impulsive actions against Krzyzewski.

“I kind of want to publicly apologize to Coach K for what I said,” Oats mentioned. “I actually felt terrible about it as soon I got out of the press conference, I reached out to him.

“He was gracious enough to return my call. We had a good talk on the phone. I got the utmost respect for him as a coach. He’s done unbelievable,” Oats further added.

Also Read | ‘We’re Just Plowing Through This’- Coach Mike Krzyzewski Wants NCAA to Re-Assess Season

The Duke Blue Devils and Mike Krzyzewski stunned everyone with their decision

Fans and the media went berserk after the Duke Blue Devils decided to forego the remainder of their non-conference games this season. The team is already 2-2 against such opponents, and Oats derived his statements based on these results. 

But setting that aside, Duke’s decision certainly comes as a surprise. The team is struggling to find form and they’re currently off to one of their worse starts in their entire history. But they decided to call non-conference games amid all this, which raised a few eyebrows. 

However, as time passed by, people actually began realizing that the Blue Devils have made a statement with their decision. The COVID-19 cases are rapidly spiking in the country and constantly travels to different cities only increases the risk.

Some might agree with the decision, and some won’t. Nate Oats criticized Krzyzewski a few days ago, but he bounced back with rational thoughts and offered an apology. 

However, the NCAA is yet to take a collective decision on the season, especially about Duke canceling its non-conference games.