Just before tip-off against Arizona, star Kansas guard Darryn Peterson was ruled out due to flu-like symptoms. Monday night is just the latest game Peterson has missed, being one of the big mysteries in college basketball. Social media speculation on the topic continually runs rampant. But one video of somebody texting posted by Barstool Arizona suggested Peterson got into a spat with head coach Bill Self.
Kansas Athletics has since refuted the content inside the video. They claim a worker contracted by ESPN is the one behind the text message. Senior Associate AD for Strategic Communications Daniel Berk released a statement on social media, explaining things from the KU side.
“The person texting in this video is a contracted crew worker who handles official stats during the game for ESPN,” Berk said. “He does not work for KU and is not affiliated with the athletic department in any way. He has no inside information and was speculating. We are handling internally.”
The person typing is courtside at Allen Fieldhouse. He is wearing a headset but no other information on his profile is present, based on the video posted. Barstool Arizona’s tweet has gained a lot of traction, sitting at 1.1 million views at the time of posting. Which likely led to Kansas feeling the need to release the statement.
“So hes sick and he didn’t tell anyone in practice and Bill said don’t half a** it if your gonna play, if not sit. DP said Fuck It, I’m out.” pic.twitter.com/6zY1LBKfxp
— #1🏀 Barstool Arizona🌵 (@UofABarstool) February 10, 2026
“So he’s sick and he didn’t tell anyone in practice and Bill said don’t half a** it if your gonna play, if not sit,” the text message appeared to say. “DP said F**k It, I’m out.”
Darryn Peterson ruled out of Big Monday tilt vs. No. 1 Arizona due to flu-like symptoms
Darryn Peterson did not play against Arizona on Monday night due to experiencing flu-like symptoms. Peterson was scratched from the lineup after not appearing with Kansas during warmups ahead of tip-off.
It’s the 11th game Peterson has missed this season. He missed nine earlier in the season for a hamstring injury, another for and now one for an illness.
When he does play, Peterson is a game-changer for Kansas. Peterson averages 20.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game for the Jayhawks this season, turning into one of the best players in the country.
All signs pointed toward Peterson playing on Monday. However, the Kansas star will be sidelined at least against Arizona. His status for Saturday’s top-10 matchup against the Iowa State Cyclones remains to be seen.
On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this report