Houston Coach Kelvin Sampson Facing Heat For 'Disrespecting' Reporter

03/22/2025 08:38 AM

Houston basketball coach Kelvin Sampson went viral on Friday because of a cold interaction he had with a reporter. 

Prior to Houston's second-round matchup against Gonzaga, Sampson spoke to a plethora of reporters. One reporter in particular asked him this question: "Didn't you try to get a game with Gonzaga in 2021?" 

Since the reporter pronounced the school as "Gon-zawg-ah," Sampson decided to go on a rant about people calling him the wrong name when he was younger. 

"Gonzaga," Sampson replied. "It always burns me up when people say that. It's like calling me Kevin. My name is not Kevin. People used to see my name and say 'Hey, Kevin.' And [my mom] would say, 'Don't let people call you Kevin. Your name is Kelvin. Make sure they pronounce your name right.' 

"So that's why my antennas go up with that. Same with Gonzaga. They were our neighbors." 

Kelvin Sampson corrects a reporter who mispronounces #Gonzaga: "It always burns me up when people say that. It's like calling me Kevin."

All-time sound bite here. pic.twitter.com/KeT83Jhyue

— Theo Lawson (@TheoLawson_SR) March 21, 2025

Judging by the reactions on social media, fans didn't love the way Sampson handled this situation.   

"This is not what he thought it would be. Cringe," one fan said. 

"Easy there, Kevin. It's not that big of a deal," another fan wrote.

"If I was the reporter and after Sampson said 'go ahead' I would say no, I'm not finishing the question. Go be an [expletive] to somebody else," a third fan tweeted. 

"Phonetically, it's the way the reporter said it. If people don't know how to pronounce something you can correct them in a kind way. Shaming people on pronunciation isn't the flex you think it is," a fourth person chimed in.

Sampson has been coaching Houston since the 2014-15 season. The program has made it to at least the Sweet 16 in five separate occasions with him at the helm. 

A win on Saturday night over Gonzaga would get Houston one step closer to accomplishing its ultimate goal of winning a national championship. 

Tipoff for the Gonzaga-Houston game is at 8:40 p.m. ET. 

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