Mark Stoops responds to Shane Beamer's viral dancing video

When South Carolina pulled off a 24-14 upset of then-No. 13 Kentucky on Saturday evening you had to know the sunglasses were coming out for Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer following a back-and-forth saga between him and Wildcats coach Mark Stoops that started back at SEC Media Days. Needless to say, Stoops was asked this week about the Gamecocks tweeting a video of their postgame celebration.

“You asked me so I’m answering, but it’s the last time I’m going to answer,” Stoops said. “For the last time, if I have something to say about Shane Beamer, I’ll say it. He and I have talked twice. I have a lot of respect for him. They kicked our butt.

“And as far as dancing and enjoying themselves in the locker room, they should. There’s a lot of work that goes into it. It’s a hard job we have. The players and the coaches work and prepare and they came on the road and beat a ranked opponent. Beat our butt and they should enjoy it.”

If you happened to miss the drama, here’s the long and short of it.

Beamer and South Carolina were very active on social media this offseason, and the Gamecocks tweeted out a TikTok video set to Soulja Boy’s Turn My Swag On just before SEC Media Days in which Beamer donned a backwards hat and sunglasses.

Stoops made an offhand remark while filming a TV segment at SEC Media Days that it takes more than “stupid sunglasses” to change the culture of a program.

He later denied that the comments were a reference to Beamer, though the timing was certainly coincidental enough for many to link the two. Enough that it was an ongoing storyline going into Saturday’s game.

Shane Beamer viral dancing video earns last laugh

To the victor go the spoils, right?

Well, the Gamecocks certainly got their money’s worth on Saturday night, with Beamer even letting his players know to handle things in the media properly just before celebrating with the sunglasses.

Stoops, for his part, just sounds ready to be done with the whole incident.

He hasn’t had many instances where he’s become the focal point of the story like he did in this case, not like many of his SEC peers who are more comfortable stirring the pot.

“It just makes me go back to me being very vanilla,” Stoops said. “I’ve been around 10 years, I’d like to keep my head down. I don’t say anything about anybody for 10 years, you know what I mean? I kind of stay in my lane and do my job and keep my head down.”

The Wildcats will be looking to bounce back from two consecutive losses and put the drama in the past. Kentucky is set to host No. 16 Mississippi State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET with a broadcast on the SEC Network.