College hoops world blast Ole Miss WBB HC for dissing Rebels fans over program's $8.4M loss: "The public doesn't owe you"

After Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin led Ole Miss to an 80-75 victory over Tennessee on Sunday, she called out the fan base for low attendance. This came in response to a tweet by Rivals reporter Chase Parham, who posted the athletic department's financials showing women's basketball lost around $8.4 million.

She pointed out the team's lack of fan support despite their recent success, including four wins in their last five games. She challenged Rebels fans to come out and support the team.

“Someone tried to put out a narrative … as if all we do is we’re a waste,” McPhee-McCuin said (h/t Sports Illustrated). “We’re not a waste. That just pissed me off. And when I walk out and I see my fans, the fans come out, and we can’t get Club Red to come out, that pisses me off."

"Because why not come out and support us? Why not be a cool school for everybody? Turn on ESPN. There are people out there watching that game. So we’ve gotta catch up man. We’re behind. It’s disappointing."

McPhee-McCuin's comments sparked a backlash from some college basketball fans on X (formerly Twitter). Here are a few reactions from the fans:

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Ole Miss HC further called out Rebels fans for not supporting women's basketball

Coach "Yo" McPhee-McCuin didn't mince words, openly sparring with Ole Miss fans over supporting women's basketball. She took issue with the lackluster attendance at women's games compared to men's sports. McPhee-McCuin challenged fans to step up and give equal backing to her rising Rebels squad.

“What I’m trying to get the Oxford community to do is to catch up because the rest of the world has caught up to the fact women’s sports is legit and it’s real,” McPhee-McCuin said (h/t Yahoo Sports).

“So I’m not going to allow people to make it seem like what we do doesn’t matter. I’m not going to allow people to make it seem like our women are less than. Because that is a false narrative out there and the Oxford community needs to catch up to that and that’s the truth.”

She doubled down, chastising student group "Club Red" for skipping the Rebels' matchup against Florida. The sparsely attended game drew only 2,450 fans, fueling McPhee-McCuin's frustration with paltry student turnout.

“We should have had Club Red up in here,” she said. “It should have been packed in here. How does a team that goes to the Sweet 16 and only has two [SEC] losses not have an average of 5000 people in the stands? How? You know what it is? It’s the lack of value and it needs to change. I don’t care who’s upset about me saying this because I’m going to speak the truth.”

“Women’s sports is a legitimate entity and maybe because Oxford right now doesn’t think so, the rest of the world has caught on,” McPhee-McCuin added. "So the Oxford community needs to catch on. The Ole Miss campus community needs to catch on.”

The Ole Miss Rebels (15-5, 5-2 SEC) will hit the road for a two-game swing, starting with a Thursday matchup against Vanderbilt in Nashville.