KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – University of Tennessee Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl has issued an apology about a comment he made Thursday morning, about his team’s diversity.

The comment came while Pearl and UT basketball announcer Bert Bertelkamp were speaking at the Smoky Mountain Region Combined Federal Campaign Kickoff in downtown Knoxville.

“I got to tell you,” Pearl said to the crowd of federal employees, “I've got a tough job. I've got such a diverse group. I've got guys from Detroit and Chicago, from the hood and then I've got guys from Grainger County, where they wear the hood.”

Pearl paused for a second after the joke and quickly added, “that's not part of the speech."

The comment was made in reference to walk-on freshman guard Skylar McBee. McBee graduated from Grainger County High School in the spring, where he was the Grizzlies starting quarterback in football and averaged 24 points, eight rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.6 steals per game his senior season in basketball. He turned down scholarship offers to East Carolina, Marshall, Santa Clara and Winthrop to walk-on at UT.

Coach Pearl issued the following statement Thursday evening through the UT Athletic department:

"This morning while speaking at a private kick-off event for a great organization that benefits many local charities, I made a statement in jest to describe the diverse group our staff recruits year-in and year-out. Unfortunately while I was trying to excite the crowd and encourage employees to give, I made an inappropriate joke. I certainly did not intend to offend anyone and I apologize to everyone, especially the people of Grainger County.

In no way am I trying to justify what I said, but I'm disappointed that the focus has been placed on me rather than the charities I was there to help. My only hope is that the visibility of this mistake will encourage those who can to give to those in need during these difficult times."

Thursday’s meeting was hosted by the Tennessee Valley Authority and held to inform federal employees in the area about the Combined Federal Campaign. CFC is the world’s largest workplace charity campaign and is set up to let federal workers donated directly to national and locally based charitable organizations.

"Right now the community needs us more than ever,” said Tammy Wilson, vice president of retirement services for TVA. “The more we give to the community the more we get back. Since we live here and we work here, it is a great cause to try and support the community."

The Smoky Mountain Region of the CFC covers federal workers from 26 different counties. They are employed by 50 difference agencies including the post office, TVA, Department of Energy and Department of Housing and Urban Development.