Bret Bielema aims tongue-in-cheek social media post at Shane Beamer after Cirtus Bowl antics
Bret Bielema and the Illinois Fighting Illini downed Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks 21-17 on Tuesday, but that’s hardly the full story coming out of Orlando.
What caught the attention of the public Tuesday was not solely Illinois’ win over the Gamecocks. It was the brouhaha between the Illini and Gamecocks at the end of the 3rd quarter, spearheaded by both head coaches.
There’s no other way to say it; Beamer completely freaked out on Bielema just before the 4th quarter. As you can see in the video below, Beamer was irate at Bielema making the substitution pose after an Illini player went down on the field. Illinois had been substituting players very late, forcing the Gamecocks to take a timeout. It’s safe to say this pose from Bielema is the straw that broke the camel’s back.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) December 31, 2024
Following the game, Beamer took to social media to question the ethics of it all, mentioning that it isn’t right for his team to get the label of “unethical” with how Illinois played the game. He finished his post with #WillAlwaysDefendOurTeam
Here’s what Bielema said in response:
Happy New Year and congrats on a great season…. #HappNewYear2025 #CFBPlayoff https://t.co/tUtQNcZw61
— Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) January 1, 2025
Bielema also insisted in a later post that he wasn’t aiming the gesture at Beamer specifically, but the entire sideline.
This is the best explanation of everything that happened and I couldn’t agree more. Except I wasn’t taunting Coach I was telling the whole SIDELINE that we knew the standard for football at every level for years has been disregarded moving forward. #HappyNewYear2025 https://t.co/lFfDdCSqto
— Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) January 1, 2025