Dick Gabriel issues correction to Calipari counteroffer report

Earlier on Tuesday, Dick Gabriel, a veteran on the UK sports beat, reported that John Calipari extended a counteroffer to Kentucky after Calipari received an offer from Arkansas to take over as the Razorbacks’ head coach.

Gabriel added that Kentucky turned down the counter.

“Calipari, as I’m told, said, here’s what it’s going to take to keep me and UK said, I don’t think so,” Gabriel said on KET.

Shortly after that, Calipari announced through a video on social media that he would be parting ways with the Wildcats. In his video, he did not mention accepting the Arkansas job, although that is a foregone conclusion at this point.

But as it turns out, Calipari never actually approached Kentucky with a counteroffer, which Gabriel explained through social media on Tuesday night.

“Clarification about a comment I made on KET: I should not have made it sound like there was a ‘counter offer’ situation,” Gabriel wrote on X/Twitter. “I did a poor job of saying UK was aware of what Arkansas was offering, but to make it sound like Calipari sought a counter-offer was inaccurate. My apologies.”

Clarification about a comment I made on KET: I should not have made it sound like there was a “counter offer” situation. I did a poor job of saying UK was aware of what Arkansas was offering, but to make it sound like Calipari sought a counter-offer was inaccurate. My apologies. https://t.co/D6PwDGIRxU

— Big Blue Insider (@bigblueinsider1) April 10, 2024

Regardless of what happened behind the scenes, Calipari is out at Kentucky. For the Big Blue Nation, that’s all that matters right now. All eyes turn towards an important coaching search for athletic director Mitch Barnhart.