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John Calipari’s daughter, Erin, was seen defending her family online from a social media troll’s onslaught of bad-mouthing. She quickly put the anonymous user in their place, even gaining the support of Big Blue Nation in the process.
Who would’ve thought?!
The negativity, unsurprisingly, centered around Coach Cal’s departure from Kentucky. After 15 years in Lexington, he opted to accept an opening at SEC rival Arkansas over the offseason.
Much was made of that move, which some viewed as a win-win for both parties.
Though Calipari led the program to great heights early on in his tenure, a string of recent early NCAA Tournament exits grew frustrations within the fanbase.
This past season, it was a first-round loss to 14-seed Oakland that had BBN riled up. A few years prior, it was 15-seed Saint Peter’s who sent the team packing.
Over the last four seasons, the ‘Cats are just 1-3 in postseason play, failing to make it past the opening weekend of the Big Dance in three straight trips.
Wanting more, many around the university hoped for a change. A $33M buyout made that decision difficult, leading administration to retain him for the coming season.
It wouldn’t take long, though, for those upset fans to get their wish.
John Calipari was hired at Arkansas in April.
The Razorbacks were able to use a massive NIL package to lure him away from Lexington, which he then used to bring with him a few Kentucky players.
Calipari had nothing but nice things to say about his time with the Wildcats, posting a heartfelt message to Big Blue Nation after the fact.
It seems some still hold a grudge…
One person, in particular, hid behind anonymity to bad mouth the coach’s family online, to which Cal’s daughter took offense.
Responding to a post of the head coach throwing out a first pitch at an Arkansas baseball game, the troll went in.
“Erin didn’t mention a word about her father’s 15 years at Kentucky,” the post read. “She would sure be there as soon as someone said anything bad about her dad and talk s— for days. Says a lot about Calipari and his family. Rarely disliked a family that I have never met but… congrats.”
Erin Calipari quickly bit back with nothing but facts.
“He won a championship, got inducted into the hall of fame, and became the winningest active coach during that time,” she replied. “Glad I could clarify.”
It’s not the first time she’s had to defend her family from an online attack, and it probably won’t be the last.
As for this particular social media user, this was the latest of a number of targeted jabs taken at the Caliparis when looking at the X timeline.
We’ll see if they continue to come at Erin after being put in their place.