Jeff Capel is a Duke legend.
He was beloved a player and was a Blue Devils assistant starting in 2011 until he was hired by Pittsburgh to be the Panthers’ head coach in 2018.
So you could understand why Duke’s die-hard fan section, the Cameron Crazies, would target Capel with a cheer during Tuesday’s game, a chant — “Jeff Capel, sit with us” — that was all in good fun.
You could also understand why Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski might misinterpret that chant as taking a shot at a Duke legend, which is why Coach K went off, screaming at the Crazies to “shut up!!!”
After Cameron Crazies started yelling "Jeff Capel, sit with us," Coach K could be seen yelling "Shut up" and "He's one of us."
Capel played at Duke and coached there for 7 seasons. pic.twitter.com/OdKeJ62MMv
— ESPN (@espn) January 29, 2020
Krzyzewski apologized, thinking the chant was personal and suggested other chants:
Here was Coach K’s response when asked about erupting on his own fans just before half. Said he didn’t like Capel being taunted, suggested Duke fans instead turn to chants of “DEFENSE!” or “LET’S GO!” or “COME ON, DUKE!”
Having a normal one pic.twitter.com/P5fsWBHLET
— Kyle Boone (@Kyle__Boone) January 29, 2020
Capel later tweeted he took “no offense” and retweeted a note a Duke fan had snapped from the “dirt sheet” that the student section gets to taunt opponents, which said “nothing bad to say here, love you Capel”:
Love you guys back!!! No offense taken from me! Keep SHOWING UP AND CHEERING FOR YOUR TEAM! They DESERVE IT! https://t.co/19BC707KjR
— Jeff Capel (@jeffcapel) January 29, 2020
It was all a big misunderstanding.
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