"They continued to harass us": Cooper Flagg's mom speaks out on viral celebration, calls out 'classless a***oles' UNC fans

Kelly Flagg, mother of Duke star Cooper Flagg, has addressed an incident where she was caught on camera using less-than-ideal language after her son made a dunk. It came in the latter stages of the Blue Devils' title-winning 82-69 win over rivals North Carolina.

Even though Flagg did not have his best game, he still delivered a thrilling dunk late in the match, extending Duke’s lead to 15 points with 90 seconds left to play.

The move energized Blue Devils fans, including Flagg’s parents, who were caught on camera patting their heads in celebration. However, the moment went viral after Flagg’s mother added some colorful language to the excitement.

She later spoke about the incident, apologizing to anyone who may have been offended.

"I appreciate all of you who have supported us all season long, especially last night after my call for bail money," Kelly Flagg wrote on social media. "I also want to apologize to anyone who was offended by my language that was caught in a celebratory moment. I do realize it wasn't my best look.

However, she went ahead to explain the reason behind her actions and also took the opportunity to make a playful remark about North Carolina fans.

"It was a very intense situation we were put into and we were taken aback by the crudeness of the UNC fans as we made our way into the arena. They continued to harass us with much worse being spewed in our direction as well as at our 18-year-old son and his teammates through the entirety of the game.

"The celebration was a moment of being so pround of our kid and also a big F-you to the entire Carolina fan base for being classless a-holes. If you are a UNC fan and didn't like it ... tough! Better luck next time!" she wrote.

The UNC-Duke rivalry is one of the oldest ones in college basketball, and this game lived up to the expectations.

The Blue Devils have won the ACC title outright with 28 regular-season wins, marking the first time Jon Scheyer won a regular-season title as head coach.

Cooper Flagg and Duke head for national championship amid uncertain future

The Blue Devils are one of the favorites to win the national championship this season, and as Flagg and other team members have mentioned in the past, it is a major focus.

Duke lost just one game in the ACC conference all season and are on an eight-game winning streak heading into the postseason.

However, while all of this is going on, the situation around Flagg’s future remains up in the air. Recent reports suggest that the odds of the freshman staying at Duke for another year continue to increase. This is thanks to the projected NIL deal and the caliber of NBA teams wielding the power to make the first pick during the 2025 NBA Draft.