Mark Pope does not allow red socks at Kentucky -- and one camper had to learn the hard way

I’m not sure which MLB team Mark Pope roots for, but I can promise you it’s not the Boston Red Sox. One poor camper had to learn the hard way that red doesn’t belong inside the Kentucky basketball facilities as long as he’s the head coach in Lexington.

Hosting his second annual Father/Son Camp at the Joe Craft Center and Historic Memorial Coliseum, Pope blew the whistle inside Memorial and asked the kids and their dads to huddle in with something to get off his chest. The issue? One child nearly understood the assignment with a blue shirt — underneath a grey camp shirt with blue lettering — and blue shorts with grey and black sneakers, but came up egregiously short in one area.

The socks? Red.

Not in Pope’s house.

The Kentucky head coach had a staff member run to the equipment room and bring back a fresh pair of white Nike socks to cover up that horrific color that belongs down I-64W and only down I-64W. Pope called on Brandon Garrison to swap out the socks and get the camper back on his feet wearing the right colors, ready to roll in blue and white.

“I see red in this gym and it makes me truly uncomfortable. I’ve got a socks issue right here. I love you bro, but I’ve got a real socks issue,” Pope announced. “BG, can you take care of this, please? Will you please change those socks, is that okay? Take those socks off, please!”

Mark Pope does not allow red socks at his Father/Son Camp

Kentucky staff made sure to swap them out for white 😹 pic.twitter.com/QHk2TAJQ3V

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) June 7, 2025

The interaction was obviously well-intended and all in good fun — dad and son laughing at the joke and appreciating the individual attention from Coach Pope. And it’s not every day you get free gear from a Kentucky Wildcat, even if it’s just a pair of white Nike socks.

They may not know it now, but that family will be talking about that moment for a long, long time.

And they certainly won’t be bringing red back inside the Kentucky basketball facilities with Mark Pope in charge.

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