Mark Pope on Kentucky fans doing L's down: 'I'm gonna keep my mouth closed on that one'

Mark Pope respects opponents, but there are certain lines he isn’t willing to cross. Last season at BYU, Pope made headlines after requesting students wearing shirts that spelled out “Horns Down” to remove their shirts before the Cougars tipped off against Texas.

“Just know, they were taken off before the game started,” Pope said. “From The ROC, and from our players, and from our student body, that’s just not us. It’s not how we roll and it was just a miscalculation on just a couple of eager kids.

“We love the eagerness of these fans, but this is not what we do here. We love all 18,000 people in this gym. They were incredible tonight. Just so you know, that’s not something we’re supporting.”

Aware of Pope’s history, Kentucky fans were concerned the 51-year-old head coach would bring the same energy toward the Wildcats’ rivalry with Louisville. Particularly, the Big Blue Nation grew worried Pope would discourage fans from throwing the infamous “L’s Down” symbol at the Cardinals.

During his first appearance on the “UK HealthCare Mark Pope Show,” Pope puts fans’ anxieties to rest.

“The one thing I know about Big Blue Nation is if I say anything about the L’s Down, I’m going to get run out of town and I’d like to stay here for a long time, so I’m going to keep my mouth closed on that one,” Pope said.

Since 2010, Kentucky is 13-3 against Louisville, most recently defeating the Cardinals 85-76 on Dec. 21, 2023. Kentucky diehards don’t hesitate to remind Louisville fans of the Wildcats’ recent dominance in the storied rivalry.

Pope is no stranger to the historic feud between the two Bluegrass programs. Pope went 1-1 against Louisville in his two seasons at Kentucky. Pope plans to incorporate what he learned while playing for the program into his coaching approach.

“I learned about resilience here,” Pope said. “Here at Kentucky, resilience is a requirement. I learned here that passion wins championships. Sometimes when you’re on the court competing with all the passion you can, your insides end up all over the floor. I learned that from my guys. I learned about gratitude here at Kentucky. Entitlement leads to sorrow and depression and gratitude leads to joy. 

“What all these players know and all of our future players are going to learn really quick is that they are not doing those jerseys a favor by letting the jerseys clothe them. Our guys will know quickly that it will be one of the great honors of their life to put that jersey on.”