Jim Boeheim Apologizes for Saying ACC Opponents ‘Bought’ Players

The longtime Syracuse coach walked back his comments in an apology Monday morning.

Syracuse men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim issued a public apology Monday morning after accusing three ACC opponents of buying players over the weekend.

“I would like to clarify remarks I made in a conversation I had with a media member following our game on Saturday evening,” Boeheim said in a statement. “I apologize to the schools I mentioned. I believe the ACC member institutions are in compliance with NCAA rules governing Name, Image and Likeness (NIL). It was not my intention to imply otherwise.”

Boeheim made waves Saturday night when he told ESPN’s Pete Thamel that the presence of NIL in the sport and the frequent use of the transfer portal has changed the sport for the worse.

“This is an awful place we’re in in college basketball,” Boeheim said. “Pittsburgh bought a team. OK, fine. My [big donor] talks about it, but he doesn’t give anyone any money. Nothing. Not one guy. Our guys make like $20,000. Wake Forest bought a team. Miami bought a team. … It’s like, ‘Really, this is where we are?’ That’s really where we are, and it’s only going to get worse.”

Boeheim also said longtime coaches have left the profession recently because of changes NIL has brought to the sport.

“It’s crazy. That’s why those guys got out–that’s why Jay [Wright] got out, Mike [Krzyzewski] got out,” he said. “That’s the reason they got out. The transfer portal and everything is nuts. It really is.”

Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes fired back at Boeheim’s accusations about his program.

“He’s wrong. He’s one thousand percent wrong,” Forbes told CBS Sports’s Matt Norlander. “I don’t have one player on my team that got NIL to come here. That’s a fact. I’ve never had a player come here for NIL.”

With the way that Boeheim came out swinging with accusations against ACC rivals, his apology might ring hollow to some, regardless of what his true intentions were.