ACC “Reprimands” NC State’s DJ Horne

Last night, NC State Senior Guard DJ Horne went to the free throw line with 2.2 seconds left, with the game secured for the Wolfpack, and as the referee turned after giving him the ball, Horne gave the man in stripes the double bird.

DJ Horne congratulates Wake for a game well played pic.twitter.com/RFYteDheD9

— Mark Armstrong (@MarkPArmstrong) January 17, 2024

After the game, Horne took to Twitter to apologize for his behavior.

My sincere apologies for what happened at the end of the game. I got caught up in the heat of the moment and made a disrespectful gesture that I should have never done. That’s not who I am!

— DJ Horne (@djhorne0) January 17, 2024

While I don’t think there is any place in sports for flipping off the referee, I do think there’s always a place for a player to recognize where he made a mistake, own their actions, and apologize. I appreciate that Horne did that.

Today, the ACC sent out a brief release stating they have “reprimanded” Horne.

What exactly does this mean? From what I understand, it means they told him they don’t approve of his actions, and instructed him not to do so again.

According to a source close to the program, they don’t expect the conference to issue any punishment to Horne beyond this “reprimand.”