WATCH: Kirk Ferentz continues to address back and forth with media following apology

After a back-and-forth with a reporter about his son Brian’s job status on Saturday, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said he felt it was an “interrogation” this week. He then apologized in a statement Wednesday evening, and further addressed the situation on his radio show Wednesday night.

Ferentz clarified he didn’t “take the high road,” as he encourages his players to do, and wanted to apologize to the media members for “dismissing” the reporter asking the questions. However, he pointed out he didn’t like the tone of the questions, which is why he responded the way he did.

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“I always preach to our guys and encourage our guys to take the high road, so maybe I deviated from that and I apologized for that,” Ferentz said on “Hawk Talk with Kirk Ferentz” Wednesday night. “I don’t want to set a bad example for the guys. And it’s not so much the questions. It’s part of my job and I fully realize [that] and appreciate the members of the media. They have jobs to do. I answered more than several hard questions after the Illinois ballgame, and same thing on Saturday. That’s part of the job. It’s not fun, but it’s part of the job. So, no problem there. I didn’t have a problem with the question. I just have a real problem with the tone.

“There’s, to me, a way you go about your business. Everybody’s entitled to their own opinion how they want to do things. But I was not appreciative of the tone in which the question was delivered or questions were delivered. So, I’ll stand by that. If anything else, it just reinforces and makes me appreciate my feelings toward the Iowa media. They ask hard questions, they do what they have to do and, again, I appreciate that and respect that. What I more so respect is the quality of people that I have a chance to interact with on a routine basis and the way they go about their jobs. I’m not sitting up here telling anybody how to do their job. I guess I do have some opinions about it, and there are certain tones I don’t appreciate people taking with me. Enough said on that one.”

Kirk Ferentz issues apology to Iowa media after ‘interrogation’ comments

Wednesday, Ferentz sent out a statement to Iowa beat reporters apologizing for his remarks following the Hawkeyes’ loss to Ohio State on Saturday.

“I had hoped to join the zoom call this morning, but practice lasted longer than anticipated,” Ferentz said. “I wanted to take a moment to apologize for my comments during the news conference yesterday. I should not have been dismissive of one of your colleagues — his questions were fair. I have a high respect for the work that you do, and I am appreciative of how you cover our team.

“You ask tough and pointed questions but do so with a high degree of professionalism. I tell our players to take the high road and yesterday, I did not do the same thing. I look forward to seeing you on Saturday.”