West Virginia head coach Neal Brown responded to the public reactions stemming from the comments he made during his weekly press conference on Monday.
Brown was asked about his message to the fans ahead of WVU's game against Kansas State as the Mountaineers lost to Iowa State last Saturday.
Brown responded to the public reaction to his comments, saying he should have answered the question better and understands the position he is in.
"First of all, it wasn't my best answer. I take ownership on that. I own that it wasn't my best answer, but let me be clear, I want to start with this, I hate losing. I think anybody that's been around me knows that. It's not okay, can't stand it. I think every coach and player in our building would second that, and I think every coach and player in our building feels the same way," Brown said.
Brown's comments on Monday, including him saying, "I get they want to win, but what I would say is, did they have a good time? You know what I mean, like, did they enjoy it," Brown said on Monday.
Brown added the scrutiny he received from this comment he's not sure is fair due to how he addressed the issue of losing elsewhere during his press conference.
"Anything to do with football or a particular game I think is fair, scrutiny over this comment, I don't know if it's fair. I would urge everyone just listen to how I opened the press conference. When I opened the press conference, I really talked about how disappointed, and I talked about the stage being set because it was, it was a great night," Brown said.
Brown said overall, he did not give a good answer to the question, and if he was asked the question again, his answer would have been different.
"I just didn't answer it very well. You know, if I had to do it again, I think the way I should have answered was, hey, we got, we got a damn good football team. We've lost the three undefeated teams. At some point, we're going to put it all together, and we're going to play up to our capabilities. And we're going to finish one of these games that we've played. We've got guys that are playing the right way. We play tough, we play physical, listen to what our opponents say before and after they play us.
"We got guys that it means something to, we've got guys on our football team that number numerous are from the state of West Virginia. So they're fully aware of what it means to the fans here. And I would encourage our fans to continue to come out and support because our guys are playing the game the right way, and we are going to figure it out.
"And Kansas State's got a great football team, and we need another great atmosphere on Saturday night because this could be the night that we put it together. And that's the way I should have answered it. But I didn't, it wasn't my best answer, but at the same time, I think a lot of that was taken completely out of context," Brown said.
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