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N.C. State’s Cat Barber sends apology to President Obama after profane outburst

Trevor Lacey, Anthony Barber

Trevor Lacey, Anthony Barber

AP

North Carolina State sophomore Cat Barber helped lead the Wolfpack to an improbable run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 8 seed. After a win in the Round of 32 over No. 1 seed Villanova, Barber was caught on video going on a profane outburst directed at President Barack Obama. Obama had picked Villanova to reach the Final Four in his bracket.

The video -- which caught Barber motivating himself by using the perceived slights of another to get himself pumped up like many competitors tend to do -- drew national attention since it was directed at the Commander in Chief.

Barber apologized to President Obama on Twitter on Monday, but he went a step further by sending an email through an N.C. State connection to the White House on Tuesday.

According to a story from Joe Giglio of the News Observer, Barber’s email apology was given to Obama’s former White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, who is an N.C. State graduate.

The email found its way to the President and Wolfpack head coach Mark Gottfried said the apology was accepted.

“He understood and he knew it was in the heat of the moment and accepted the apology,” Gottfried said of President Obama’s response.

Gottfried went on to say Barber’s reaction after the win was “100 percent in the heat of the moment, in a fun way.” He still wanted Barber to apologize and it’s probably the right move for all parties involved. Now the Wolfpack can move on and focus on their Sweet 16 against No. 4 seed Louisville this week.