Nate Oats addresses NSFW chant during Alabama-Auburn game

As Alabama officials worked to get the lights back on at the start of Wednesday’s game against Auburn, the Crimson Tide student section broke out into an NSFW chant. It happened again in the second half, as is the nature of the rivalry between the two programs.

Nate Oats received a question about it Friday as Alabama gets ready to take on LSU, but said he didn’t hear it in the moment.

“I didn’t hear that,” Oats said. “I wasn’t aware of that.”

The following video contains NSFW language.

Bodda Getta chants were loud in Coleman Coliseum after Johni Broome drained a 3 to open the game.

This was the Alabama student section’s response shortly after: @NextRoundLive pic.twitter.com/SUjpueO0if

— Taylor Korn (@TaylorKornTNR) January 25, 2024

However, Oats pointed out the special atmosphere at Coleman Coliseum for the game, which Alabama won 79-75. The fans were into the game the whole way, and it’s part of what makes college basketball stand out from the NBA. In fact, that’s a regular conversation Oats has with assistant coach Ryan Pannone, who worked for the New Orleans Pelicans before arriving at Alabama this year.

However, with college students, Oats pointed out it’s sometimes tough to control what type of chants come down from the student section. After all, fun crowds are what make for home-court advantages in the SEC.

“Look, I think what makes college basketball college basketball is you get the age group that we’ve got is college students, and they bring a certain energy to the game,” Oats said. “My assistant coach, Pannone, was in the NBA and he keeps commenting on how great the crowds are. Not being disrespectful. I do not condone any type of disrespect at all. But I didn’t hear that, I wasn’t aware of it.

“We want our crowd to be super loud. We want them to do it with class, we want them to support us, give us energy. And I’ll say this, we play in some really tough road environments in the SEC. You think about when we go to Auburn, when we go to some places — yeah, it’d be nice if everybody’s crowd, particularly ours, where we have more control over, was super loud, super energetic and very respectful in their cheers. But I’m not sure I have a whole lot of control over what exactly’s being said nor am I aware of what’s being said most of the time.”

When it comes to tuning out the crowd noise, though, Oats knows the type of reception he tends to get when Alabama goes on the road.

“I learned a long time ago to tune the crowd out and focus on the game,” he said. “I don’t think I want to hear what they’re saying about me on the road all the time.”