Creighton Coach Greg McDermott Apologizes for Making Postgame 'Plantation' Analogy to Team

Creighton coach Greg McDermott has apologized for post-game comments he made to his team on Saturday after they lost a game to Xavier 77-69.

Those comments were as follows:

In his apology the coach called the comments “inappropriate.” He said he “immediately recognized my egregious mistake,” and that he quickly addressed the team/team staff to express his regret.

“I have never used that analogy and it is not indicative of who I am as a person or as a coach,” he said. “I am deeply sorry. I have apologized to our student-athletes and to our staff, as well as to President Hendrickson and Director of Athletics Bruce Rasmussen.

“Over the last 72 hours, I have engaged in multiple difficult conversations with student athletes, staff, parents, and University administrators and I realize the pain that my words have caused. For that, I sincerely apologize. I am committed to ensure that this will never happen again and am using this as a learning experience. While there remains work to be done and trust to earn back, I appreciate our student-athletes’ honesty and will maintain an open dialogue as we grow and learn together.”

You can read it below:

According to CBS Sports, the school also put out a statement, while adding that any punishment for McDermott will remain confidential.

“Coach McDermott acknowledged the impact of his words and apologized to his student-athletes, their families and his staff,” they said. “While an apology is a start, and while we believe this was out of character for Coach McDermott, in no way does it diminish the fact that his remark was hurtful to many and has absolutely no place in the Creighton community. We have offered our full and unconditional support to those affected by his words.”

McDermott has been Creighton’s coach since 2010. This year the Bluejays (Creighton’s mascot) are 17-6 and are currently ranked 14th in the AP poll.