It was a mistake a young coach should always steer away from.
And a mistake that a veteran coach should never, ever make.
As soon as the words came out, Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes regretted them.
Too late. Damage done.
About 30 minutes after the Vols' 77-69 win over Auburn Saturday night, Barnes met with a group of reporters to rehash the good and the bad.
After 39 years and 851 victories, Barnes lamented the mistakes his young team made in the final four minutes.
"At the end of the game, some of the passes that we throw, it's just... I don't know what to say other than I wonder if my guys are betting on games," Barnes said.
Then, when realizing the gravity of what he said while trying to be flippant, he said, "I shouldn't say that. Erase that. I just wonder what's happening. We're too good of players to do that.
"Was that a bad... I apologize."
Given the current state of the sport and gambling investigations that are going on across the country, Barnes picked the wrong subject to joke about at the wrong time.
What's even more unusual is that it's so out of character for Barnes to go in that direction postgame. Normally his press conferences are folksy and as positive as humanly possible.
This is one he'll regret for a while.