The NCAA allegedly added a layer of censorship to the drama surrounding the exit of Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall’s wife.
Lynn Marshall was escorted by a police officer out of the lower bowl of Indianapolis’ Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Sunday after reportedly yelling obscenities throughout Wichita State’s 65-62 loss to Kentucky.
Kentucky Sports Radio’s Drew Franklin captured footage of Marshall, but said he was instructed by the NCAA to delete the original clip from his Twitter account.
“NCAA guys stood over me and made me delete the tweet,” Franklin tweeted Sunday evening. “I’m sure they’re reading this. I plan to tweet it again as I leave here.”
The video has since resurfaced, and Franklin later described the incident at length on Kentucky Sports Radio.
“Someone from the NCAA came and got my name and told me I could no longer tweet about her because ‘it made her upset.’ I guess it didn’t make anyone else upset when she told [Kentucky guard] Malik Monk to get in the weight room or told [Kentucky guard] Isaiah Briscoe to buy some bigger shorts or told [Kentucky coach John] Calipari to ‘shut the f–k up,'” Franklin recalled.
Franklin added a security guard tried to calm Marshall down several times before seeking assistance. It was then decided, “We have to be delicate because she is the coach’s wife.”
The NCAA denied Franklin’s claim that they instructed him to delete the original tweet.
“I argued, but didn’t want to jeopardize my NCAA credentials going forward as I cover Kentucky and the team tends to make long tournament runs each year,” Franklin said via Philly.com.
Franklin had been seated close to Marshall and described her behavior on Twitter throughout the game. Following Marshall’s departure, NCAA spokesperson David Worklock noted its standard protocol is for the coach’s wife to be escorted to the press conference, though typically by a school official.