"Sorry I don't speak poor": Fans call Missouri "broke" as Tigers HC Dennis Gates makes NIL revelation on court-rushing incident

The 15th-ranked Missouri Tigers, coached by Dennis Gates, secured a major upset on Wednesday, Feb. 19, with a 12-point victory over the No. 4-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, 110-98, on their home floor. This win improved their SEC record to 9-4 and their overall record to 20-6.

Following the huge victory, the Mizzou home crowd wanted to flood the court to celebrate with their players as they moved closer to their goal of a national title. However, Gates approached the announcer's table to request that fans refrain from rushing the court to avoid hefty fines, which could result in the loss of valuable NIL funds.

Several college basketball fans and spectators were quick to criticize Gates for his statement, accusing the Missouri program of not having sufficient resources:

"Sorry, I don’t speak poor," one user commented.

"They poor. That’s why," another user said.

"Poverty lol," another added.

For many users, the word "broke" was frequently used in the replies to the On3 NIL upload on X:

"Broke ahh program I could never," one user wrote with a skull emoji.

"Broke," another posted.

"Missouri broke confirmed?" another user questioned.

"Broke," a user claimed.

"Sounds like they’re broke," another speculated.

"Broke," yet another user replied.

Junior guard Mark Mitchell led the squad with a team-high 31 points on an uber-efficient 11-of-15 clip, while senior Caleb Grill complemented the charge with 25 markers of his own.

Dennis Gates explains why he pleaded for the Missouri faithful to not rush the court

During the post-game press conference, Dennis Gates elaborated on his actions, explaining that he made the request to prevent the program from losing funds that could be used for NIL opportunities and other needs. Fortunately, their fans complied and did not rush the court after the big victory.

"We need that money to go to NIL. We don’t need to be getting fined out there. But, the safety and I hope that becomes a normal thing. When you are excited, which I credit our crowd being, I just didn’t want us to rush the court and get a fine. That’s kind of how I see it," Gates said, per On3.

Gates and the rest of the Missouri Tigers now shift their focus to their upcoming road game against the unranked Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, Feb. 22, with the aim of securing another conference victory.