Mark Pope was asked about the abuse facing BYU, and his answer was pure class

Mark Pope is a thinker. When he speaks, you can tell he is intentional in the words he uses and what he says, and that he reflects on things deeply. That is why losing bothers him so much; there were even some who worried about his mental health earlier this year because of just how down he seemed. Yesterday, Seth Davis asked Kentucky basketball's head coach what he thought about abusive chants being directed at his former team.

BYU faces anti-Mormon chants in Big 12

This season, BYU has been on the receiving end of LDS abuse sent towards them several times through several different sports. Most recently, as the Cougars lost 99-92 in Stillwater, Kevin Young, BYU's head coach, explained what he heard as the team left the floor: "(expletive) the Mormons."

He went on to explain what it mean to him:

"It’s a great win for Oklahoma State University. Their fans should be proud...It would be great if some class was warranted in there as well. I’ve got four small kids at home. I’m a Mormon. When I go home, they’re going to ask me about it, same way as they asked me about it last year at Arizona. There’s just too much hate in the world to be saying stuff like that. We’ve got enough problems in our world without going at people’s religion and beliefs, and whether it’s in vogue or not."

Kevin Young

Mark Pope, who is a member of the LDS church, said:

"I don't think you're going to like either of my answers. But I kinda feel two ways...I love all the craziness that surrounds sports. I love fanbases and I love how passionate they get. It's probably unfortunate that we're so much in personal and identity attacks...but it comes with the territory. That's what we do right...Maybe there are some lines you wish we wouldn't tread on...I grew up in a time where sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt me. I think we've lost something there too."

Mark Pope

To see Pope's full comments, check out the video at the bottom where he quotes Deion Sanders.

That kind of mentality will serve him well, because at Kentucky, you will get some heat thrown at you, sometimes from your own fanbase. But keeping a level head will allow you to go beyond what is being said to you and perform as well as you can.