A Tennessee baseball staff member responded strongly to Greg McElroy’s remarks about Tony Vitello.
Former Alabama quarterback and ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy went viral this week for his remarks about Tennessee Vols baseball coach Tony Vitello.
McElroy criticized Vitello’s celebration following his team’s national championship win on Monday night in Omaha.
“I just wish he didn’t act the way he does,” said McElroy on Tuesday during “McElroy and Cubelic In The Morning” on WJOX. “He behaves like a WWE character. It’s embarrassing, honestly. As an adult, I’d be appalled. I really would.
“I know he wins, and he’s great, and the kids love him, which is fantastic, but if he were a leader in my organization, I’d need to have a talk with him. It’s unbelievable.
“His antics after the game last night were embarrassing,” McElroy continued. “Seriously… Have some class. You just won a national championship. Have some class.”
McElroy issued an apology on Wednesday, though it wasn’t well received by some Tennessee fans.
“Yesterday should have been a day to celebrate what Tennessee achieved on the baseball field, instead of me ranting about my personal grievances and societal issues,” McElroy explained. “So, I apologize to Tony Vitello, Tennessee fans, and the Tennessee baseball program. Know that I am as happy for you as anyone who wears crimson and white.
“So happy for that, and it wasn’t the right time or place. I want to ensure everyone understands that I am very sorry and will celebrate with you moving forward instead of being frustrated by minor moments that bothered me. It wasn’t right and it won’t happen again.”
McElroy essentially apologized for making the comments on air, but not for the actual comments themselves.
On Wednesday night, Tennessee’s director of baseball operations Chad Zurcher responded to McElroy’s comments on Twitter/X.com.
“I usually let things like this go, but I can’t with the [Greg McElroy] thing,” wrote Zurcher. “I’ve spent seven years with Tony Vitello. Does he show his emotions? Yes. But nobody works harder or wants to compete at the highest level like he does. This was the program’s first title, and you criticize him for celebrating? Where were you during the entire post-game instead of watching a few TV clips? God forbid someone be happy on the program’s biggest day. Call me when you find the perfect coach or person. I’ll be waiting.”
I understand if McElroy doesn’t like Vitello’s style or approach to the game. That’s his prerogative.
But calling Vitello classless crosses the line.
McElroy acts as if he’s the authority on how celebrations should be conducted. He’s not. He doesn’t get to decide what’s acceptable and what’s not.
The only opinions that matter regarding Vitello’s actions are those of his players, their parents, his coaching staff, the administration at Tennessee, and his own parents. It doesn’t matter what an ex-Alabama quarterback thinks. It doesn’t matter what I think. It doesn’t matter what opposing fan bases think.
So if Vitello’s actions offended McElroy, then oh well. I don’t think Vitello is losing sleep over what anyone in the media thinks about his raw emotion during the biggest moment of his coaching career.
I think McElroy is a good analyst, generally fair, and provides smart analysis on college football. But his take on Vitello wasn’t necessary and wasn’t fair considering the effort Vitello has put into Tennessee’s baseball program and its players.
Vitello exemplifies everything right about college sports—not because of his celebration in Omaha, but because of everything leading up to it. Building a program almost from scratch while staying true to himself is admirable. Unfortunately, McElroy can’t see that because he was distracted by Vitello eating some ice on the field after winning a championship.
