Did Calipari, Kentucky snub K-State in the postgame handshake line? Watch and decide
Social media was buzzing late Thursday night following Kansas State's 61-58 win over Kentucky in the Sweet 16 after some K-State players were miffed because some of Kentucky's team exited the court before shaking their hands after the game.
"They didn't shake our hands," K-State's Amaad Wainright told ESPN's Alex Scarborough. "It's sorry ... They know what they did."
CBS cameras showed Kansas State coach Bruce Weber and two assistants immediately walk over to shake hands with Kentucky coach John Calipari and Kentucky's players before cutting away. What happened next left K-State's players upset.
The Eagle's video of the postgame handshake line shows all but five of Kentucky's players walking off the court before shaking hands with K-State's players. Near the end of the video, Wainright can be seen putting his hands in the air at the sight of Kentucky's exit.
"On that situation, it's all about respect," Wainright told ESPN. "That's what it should have been — all about respect."
There was around a 10-second gap between when Weber finished shaking Kentucky's hands and when K-State's players finished their brief celebration and started forming a handshake line.
Afterward, Calipari said it wasn't about disrespect.
"I went down to shake their hands, too, and they were turned and celebrating so I walked off," Calipari said. "I had no disrespect for anything, just that they were celebrating and I was happy for them.
"They're in an Elite Eight game now, a chance to go to the Final Four. My team is not like that; neither is our program. There's no disrespect in any way. They beat us. They deserved to win the game."
K-State's players saw it differently.
"That's not the sportsmanship you like to see, but that's them," K-State freshman Levi Stockard said to ESPN. "They just walked off the court. I don't know what it was. I don't know."
This story was originally published March 23, 2018 at 1:24 PM with the headline "Did Calipari, Kentucky snub K-State in the postgame handshake line? Watch and decide."