Watch: "SMASHED!"- Bruce Pearl's angry rant video over SEC officiating goes viral after Auburn loses to Alabama

Auburn v Kentucky
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl screams from the sideline

While it is not uncommon for referees to be a point of frustration for fans and coaches, Bruce Pearl took things to a new extreme following Auburn's 90-85 loss to interstate rival Alabama.

Bruce Pearl took issue with a number of decisions made by the referees and was not shy about letting his opinion be known. He said that it impacted his squad's chances of getting the win. After beginning the interview with a seemingly collected answer, Pearl exploded that he was "sick and tired of our guys getting SMASHED down there."

Altercation leads to Bruce Pearl's frustration

While no one play holds the entire responsibility for Bruce Pearl's frustration, an altercation between the two teams played a major role.

Explore the NBA Draft 2024 with our free NBA Mock Draft Simulator & be the GM of your favorite NBA team.

Alabama guard Jahvon Quinerly made a nice play by rotating over to help steal an entry pass from Auburn. However, Quinerly became tangled with Auburn forward Johni Broome and ended up throwing the ball off him in an aggressive way as the two fell out of bounds.

Quinerly proceeded to stand over Broome, which rubbed the Auburn players the wrong way. A brief skirmish broke out which resulted in Broome fouling out on the play and a pair of Alabama players being ejected for leaving the bench area.

During his postgame interview, Pearl likened the play to another sport that Alabama excels in:

"There was a pass over the top and three guys kind of tackled him. That play? We’re at Alabama, they play football over there in the football stadium. We threw the ball (and) a couple of defensive backs climbed on his back. Then the ball went out of bounds, I guess. I don’t know. It was some sort of a scuffle. Our bench stayed on the bench and they had some guys come off, I guess."

While Alabama (19-11, 9-8 SEC) was the favorite going into the matchup and one of the top teams in the county this year, Auburn led by as many as 17 points in the second half before the Crimson Tide stormed back for the overtime victory.

Quick Links

Edited by Rajdeep Barman
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications