Mark Gottfried To N.C. State: Debbie Yow Calls Out Gary Williams At Press Conference

Apparently, press conferences to introduce new head coaches can’t just be about the coaches, anymore. Today, Mark Gottfried was introduced as the new coach at N.C. State at a press conference, but rather than concentrate on asking Gottfried about why he took the job or what his vision for the program is, reporters decided to focus on N.C. State director Debbie Yow. Thanks to some back and forth shots between her and University of Maryland men’s basketball coach Gary Williams, who used to work for Yow, reporters asked Gottfried multiple times about Yow’s reputation as someone who is hard to work with. Gottfried side-stepped these questions, but Yow felt the need to respond, and she did. Bluntly.

“I don’t have a reputation across all men’s basketball as being difficult to work with. I have a reputation of not getting along with Gary Williams, who tried to sabotage the search. Come on. We all know that. So whatever. It’s Gary Williams doing his thing, so whatever.”

If I made a list of things I don’t want my boss to say at a press conference, “so whatever” would probably only rank behind slurs. It’s odd language for an AD to use, and the fact that she felt the need to respond just perpetuates the rumor that she’s a piece of work. Hopefully for N.C. State fans and honestly, for any neutrals, this is a made-up media story and things will run smoothly in Raleigh in the future.

(Quote via Terrapin Trail.)