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Kevin Stallings won’t be suspended for yelling at player

By CM Towle

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Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings reportedly will not be suspended for the yelling incident that occurred on Thursday night after a game.

The incident in question took place on Thursday after Vanderbilt’s road win against Tennessee. One of Vanderbilt’s players, freshman Wade Baldwin, clapped mockingly in the face of some Tennessee players.

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An assistant alerted Stallings to the actions, which caused the coach to tee off on Baldwin, reportedly saying he would “kill him.”

According to a report by CBS Sports, Vanderbilt’s athletic director David Williams released a statement on Friday saying that the incident will be handled internally and not by the NCAA.

Williams said he met with Stallings about his behavior and the two agreed that he acted inappropriately.

"[Stallings] must exemplify the high code of conduct he expects from his team members. This is an unfortunate incident since Coach Stallings has always stood for high ideals in academics, character and sportsmanship during his 16 years as our head coach. (Part of Williams statement via CBS Sports)"

The rest of the statement acknowledged the discussion of the event and those who are embarrassed and angry at Stallings’ outburst. He also confirmed that Stallings apologized to Baldwin as well as issuing an immediate public apology. Williams reiterated that the school considers the event a personnel issue and that it will be further handled internally.

Stallings’ public statement acknowledged the outburst and characterized his actions as haste to resolve what he perceived as bad sportsmanship on the part of Baldwin. He called his comment “inappropriate”, despite not meaning it literally. He affirmed that he apologized to Baldwin immediately after the game, but also continued to state that good sportsmanship is of utmost priority to Vanderbilt, which obviously Baldwin violated.

SEC commissioner Mike Silve said he was satisfied with the way that Vanderbilt handled the incident. He said such things are best handled at the school level anyway and felt that Vanderbilt had done everything right in regards to it.

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