There are plenty of reasons for Syracuse fans to be frustrated with Adrian Autry.
The defense has collapsed.
The losses have piled up.
And Syracuse Orange men’s basketball is staring at another season without the NCAA Tournament.
Criticism is part of the job.
But even Syracuse legends are starting to ask whether the conversation has gone too far.
On a recent podcast hosted by Etan Thomas and Eric Devendorf, Syracuse radio host Brian Higgins spoke candidly about what he’s been seeing online.
“Don’t like his coaching? That’s fine,” Higgins said. “Obviously they haven’t won a lot of games… but man, it’s gotten oddly personal.”
Higgins made clear he’s hardly been leading the “save Autry” campaign. In fact, he’s spent weeks publicly discussing possible replacements.
But the tone of some criticism, he said, has crossed a line.
“Let’s try to keep it on the court,” Higgins added. “There’s plenty enough basketball stuff. You guys mentioned defense — there’s plenty to talk about. We don’t need to go after the guy personally.”
Some of the criticism has been even more troubling.
Thomas and Higgins pointed out that some of the rhetoric circulating online has taken on racial undertones with references to “DEI hires.”
“I understand the frustration,” Thomas said. “Everybody even loosely associated with Syracuse is frustrated at this point.”
But he drew a firm boundary.
“There’s some things that need to be left out… some of the racism that has kind of seeped in. The ‘DEI hire’ comments and those kind of things.”
“All the alumni love Syracuse, but then when you turn racial, it turns into a whole different element, and it’s a very ugly element that really shouldn’t rear its ugly head,” said Thomas.
Higgins said he finally decided to call it out publicly after seeing the tone escalate.
“I’m not letting my comments become just the landing point for the racist edge of the Syracuse fan base,” Higgins said. “We can argue about man or zone… that’s the fun part of sports. But this has nothing to do with that.”
For Thomas, the issue was bigger than one coach or one season.
“I know everybody’s frustrated… this will be the fifth year we haven’t made the tournament,” he said. “But we’re better than that as a Syracuse community.”
Thomas emphasized that Autry’s struggles don’t come from lack of care.
“Red is trying his best. He loves Syracuse just like everybody on here.”
That’s the uncomfortable reality of this moment.
The team is sliding. The defense is broken. Autry looks exhausted. And everyone understands the coaching change that likely awaits.
Which makes the personal and racial attacks feel even more unnecessary.
Criticize the defense.
Debate the rotations.
Question the direction.
But as Etan Thomas reminded everyone listening — frustration doesn’t have to erase decency.
And if Syracuse prides itself on being a community, moments like this are when that standard matters most.
