NC senator throws shade at NC State during ceremony to honor UNC

A North Carolina senator decided to have a little fun with N.C. State and its fans during a ceremony to honor North Carolina’s 2017 national championship.

Republican Sen. Rick Gunn, who represents Alamance and Randolph counties, poked fun at fellow Republican Sen. John M. Alexander Jr. of Wake County, who showed up to the ceremony dressed in all red. Alexander is a graduate of N.C. State and Gunn graduated from UNC.

“I’ll tell you the stat that I truly like the most,” Gunn said. “With this win, coach (Roy) Williams now has ... the same amount of NCAA national championships as he does losses to North Carolina State.”

Since Roy Williams took over as head coach at UNC in 2003, he has lost to N.C. State three times – the same number of NCAA National Championships the Tar Heels have won under Williams.

Williams’ reaction was about what you’d expect.

Also during the ceremony, Williams teased members of the General Assembly who showed up wearing red like Alexander.

“It’s really very satisfying to see a few people wearing red ... because I know you people don’t want to be here today,” Williams said. “And I tell you that really satisfies me right down to my core.”

Alexander flashed double Wolfpack hand signs in response.

This story was originally published May 3, 2017 at 4:25 PM with the headline "NC senator throws shade at NC State during ceremony to honor UNC."