Mark Pope finally snapped after Kentucky was robbed at Auburn, 'screw them'

When Mark Pope sat down at the podium following Kentucky's devastating 75-74 loss to Auburn, he played the role of the diplomat perfectly. After he got up from the podium, and with Tom Leach on the radio, it was a different story.

Asked directly about the controversial offensive foul called on Collin Chandler with 14.3 seconds left, a whistle that changed the entire game, Pope refused to take the bait.

"We don’t talk about officiating," Pope told Tom Leach. "We just got to find ways to win games."

But the biggest story of the night happened the second the official press conference ended. After getting up from the table, Pope let it be known exactly how he felt, and he didn't care who heard it.

Hot mic catches Pope expressing his anger towards officiating

Directing his frustration toward Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart, Pope delivered a bombshell quote regarding the officiating crew at Neville Arena:

"Mitch, if those MFers try to fine me, screw them. I didn’t say a word about how they cheated us."

(Note: Pope did not say the curse word; he said the abbreviation, which drew some laughs from the reporters in the room).

For a head coach who is almost universally known for his relentless positivity and sunny disposition, this is an incredibly uncharacteristic break in character. It shows exactly how furious the Kentucky locker room is right now, and they have a right to be. The refs called it loose all game, and then decided to just switch it up on the most important possession of the game.

To battle back from a nine-point deficit in one of the most hostile environments in college basketball, only to have the game decided by a highly questionable whistle, clearly pushed Pope over the edge.

Whether the SEC office decides to investigate the off-podium comments and hand down a fine remains to be seen. But one thing is absolutely certain: Mark Pope believes his team was robbed on Saturday night, and I believe he is right.