Dick Vitale upset over comment by host during talk about LSU coach Will Wade

BATON ROUGE, La. — Anyone who has listened to Dick Vitale knows that the longtime college hoops analyst for ESPN is excitable and has strong opinions.

That certainly came out Monday morning when he was a guest on the ‘Off the Bench’ radio show on 104.5 ESPN radio’s show out of Baton Rouge with Jordy Culotta and T-Bob Hebert.

Listen to the exchange between Vitale and host

Vitale came on and talked about nasty communications on social media that he says he has received from LSU fans over his opinion about suspended head coach Will Wade.

LSU’s coach was suspended after a story on Yahoo! In which Wade talked about a “strong-ass offer” for sought-after recruit and current Tiger player Javonte Smart.

Vitale was animated as usual talking about previous cases where he has jumped on coaches who have had allegations against them in regards to playing by the rules.

Vitale and the hosts were talking about why he felt LSU administrators were justified in suspending Wade, who has not coached the Tigers in the SEC tournament or the NCAA tournament. Vitale is a supporter of the suspension.

“All we’re saying is, listen to what your coach said – play that tape – if you’re proud of that, maybe I shouldn’t be on your show.”

Vitale was already hyped up, but he got especially agitated when Culotta suggested that hypocrisy was in play as Vitale supported Wade’s suspension but didn’t make similar calls in other cases where there was alleged wrongdoing.

“It’s not hypocrisy and I don’t appreciate, I’m going to come on your damn show and I’m going to be on it for you, but don’t sit there and tell me it’s hypocrisy, what I’m telling you – play the tape.

“What choice did that athletic director and that president have when the coach refuses to meet with them?”

Vitale said he was a big fan of the current LSU team and its players, saying they know how to win down the stretch in big games.

“Look, I love that LSU team. I did their game against Tennessee. I did their game against Kentucky. I was impressed with them like you would not believe.”

LSU plays Michigan State Friday night around 6 p.m. on WWL-TV.