Duke star Cooper Flagg's mom fumes on social media and calls UNC fans 'classless a**holes'
The mother of Duke freshman sensation Cooper Flagg is blasting fans at rival North Carolina after the latest showdown on Tobacco Road.
Maine native Kelly Bowman Flagg was caught on ESPN cameras celebrating a two-handed dunk by her son in the final moments of Duke's 82-69 win at Chapel Hill on Saturday. Standing alongside her husband, Ralph, Kelly appeared to yell 'on his f***ing head' while patting the top of hers after Cooper's slam.
Kelly apologized for her language in gloating about Cooper dunking on a Tar Heels defender's head, but also lobbed an accusation at the North Carolina faithful.
'I want to apologize to anyone who was offended by my language that was caught in a celebratory moment,' Kelly, a former college basketball star at the University of Maine, posted on social media. 'I do realize that it wasn't my best look. However, if you actually know me and are a real friend of mine you weren't shocked.
'It was a very intense situation we were put into and we were taken aback by the crudeness of the UNC fans as we made our way into the arena,' she continued before referencing Cooper's twin brother, Ace, who is still a high school senior and expected to play for Maine next season.
'They continued to harass us with much worse being spewed in our direction as well as at our 18 year old son and his teammates throughout the entirety of the game.
Standing alongside her husband, Ralph, Kelly appeared to yell 'on his f***ing head'
After reclassing in high school to enroll at Duke a year earlier, Cooper is now projected to be the first-overall pick in June's NBA Draft - that is, if he decides to leave Durham
Kelly apologized for her language in gloating about Cooper dunking on a Tar Heels defender's head, but also lobbed an accusation at the North Carolina faithful
'The celebration was a moment of being so proud of our kid and also a big F-you to the entire Carolina fan base for being classless a-holes,' she concluded. 'If you are UNC fan and didn't like it…tough [poop emoji]! Better luck next time! Go Duke.'
After reclassing in high school to enroll at Duke a year earlier, Cooper is now projected to be the first-overall pick in June's NBA Draft. However, the 6-foot-10 forward could opt to stay in Durham for another year.
Flagg had 15 points nine rebounds and six assists while battling through foul trouble for most of Saturday's victory.
Already a widely heralded prospect, Flagg was the big story at Team USA's pre-Olympic camp last summer when he helped the ultimately gold medal winners prepare for the tournament despite being just 17 at the time.
As ESPN's Marc Spears reported, one current NBA head coach remarked that Flagg was the best player on the USA Select Team, which was comprised of those already on NCAA rosters and typically several years older than the Maine native.
