Rick Pitino Almost Got Into It With An Adult UNC Fan Who Was Probably Inappropriately Honest

Rick Pitino had to be restrained after being heckled by a North Carolina fan. Should the ACC penalize him? Debate: https://t.co/VFGU6RYVFj pic.twitter.com/NXsflNTBeM

— Fandings (@fandings) February 23, 2017

Rick Pitino is very displeased with a UNC fan pic.twitter.com/z4bYUuyMw6

— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) February 23, 2017

I don't say this to downplay the immaturity of a grown ass man who was likely yelling derogatory insults at college basketball coach, but I think this proves - once and for all - that Rick Pitino is far too easily disrespected. I can't speak to the shortness of his fuse, but I can tell you that he seems like an incredibly easy target. A wee little Italian man who probably has a bit of a Napoleon complex to go along with a closet that was so full of skeletons that it eventually burst wide open and poured out into the public eye? I'm not saying I would be court side trying to remind him of the sins of his past, but I can see why the type of middle aged man that would chose him.

Pitino was definitely right in saying that the ejected fan was a coward for going after someone who couldn't go back at him in any conceivable way other than the old "hold me back, hold me back" routine, but apparently the loudmouth does have an eye for the excessively vulnerable. As everyone knows, the truth hurts the most and ol' Ricky appeared to have his delicate ego bruised. Maybe this heckler would have verbally attacked the opposition's head coach no matter who it was, but I have never seen any other high profile, collegiate figurehead halfheartedly try to swim move past his own defensive line in order to confront a fan, so maybe he did just pick the lowest hanging fruit with the ripest of skin. 

mattclapp: Rick Pitino goes off about a "coward" UNC fan ESPN SportsCenter https://t.co/my4D0IrSmB pic.twitter.com/HFB4mRvkCg

— FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) February 23, 2017