“I wasn’t silent”: Kenny Brooks finally speaks on Cassidy Rowe, but offers few answers
For months, Kentucky fans have waited for an explanation—some acknowledgment—from women’s basketball coach Kenny Brooks regarding the situation with Cassidy Rowe, a fan-favorite and Kentucky native who was unceremoniously dismissed from the program before her senior year. To read more about that, click here.
Until now, there had been nothing from Brooks. Just silence.
But during a media availability this week, Brooks finally addressed the topic for the first time—and his comments weren't great.
“Uh, you know, I wasn’t silent,” Brooks said when asked about the backlash and the silence surrounding Rowe’s exit.
That simple quote alone sent shockwaves through Big Blue Nation. Because from the outside, it sure felt like silence. No statement. No acknowledgement of it at all and definitely no closure.
Brooks continued:
“If you want to get deeper... I want to thank all of the young women for their contributions who are not with our team anymore. This is college basketball right now—or college athletics in general. It’s different. A lot of movement...I have to make decisions all across the board that I feel like are going to be best for Kentucky women’s basketball.”
Rowe, a lifelong Wildcat from Eastern Kentucky, has not spoken publicly about the decision that ended her career early; beyond her goodbye letter. She’s stayed quiet, just as she was asked to during her time in Lexington—signing every autograph, smiling for every photo, giving every ounce of herself to the program.
Kenny Brooks speaking on the closure of the Cassidy Rowe situation is nonsense. There is not closure for many of us. You took a spot from one of our own and forced her to give up her senior season. You didn't have the decency to give her a heads up before senior night. Clown
— Mike Bear Rogers (@ukbear03) June 25, 2025
But she’s gone now. Her scholarship gone. Her senior night gone. Her place in the program history books reduced to a footnote by someone who, by his own admission, made a “tough decision” that “not everyone’s going to like.”
Brooks elaborated further:
“Some people will try to control the narrative... They don’t know me. They don’t know the situation. They don’t know everything.”
That may be true. But what BBN does know is:
- Cassidy Rowe wore Kentucky across her chest with pride.
- She played the role asked of her, on and off the court.
- And when it came time to say goodbye, she was given no platform, no sendoff, and no closure.
There are currently 11 players on the roster. That leaves open spots for depth, development, and culture players. By every account, Cassidy Rowe checked those boxes. She wasn't trying to start. She just wanted to finish—as a Wildcat. So why was the decision even made? He could have just let her have the 12th scholarship and have a Senior Night moment. She never asked for minutes or playing time, so that wasn't an issue.
Some in the fanbase have tried to turn this into a debate over who deserved to stay and who didn’t. That’s not the point here. The point is that a Kentucky kid who gave her heart to the program never got her final moment in blue and white, and that doesn’t sit well with many in BBN. Because it simply did not have to happen.
Brooks may believe he wasn’t silent. But for Cassidy Rowe—and the fans who cheered her every minute—it sure felt that way. And maybe it should have just stayed that way, because it sure didn't help him.
I mean one of KSR's own writers had to block comments on his post related to this.
Kenny Brooks put some closure on the Cassidy Rowe situation from earlier in the spring after not putting out an official statement of any sort at the time, while also hitting on Clara Silva, Tanah Becker and Saniah Tyler, who are all also no longer with Kentucky.
— Phoenix Stevens (@PStevensKSR) June 24, 2025
"I can honestly… pic.twitter.com/jM5sXBN5UF
Of course Brooks has to make decisions that some will hate, but this was one he didn't have to do. But he did.