This post had been updated with additional comments from President Brodhead.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in a basketball rivalry.

Just ask Holden Thorp.

After drawing a barrage of Twitter criticism and a gentle rebuke from President Brodhead, UNC’s chancellor has apologized for a tweet insulting Duke.

“Sorry about the tent/Kville tweet. Both U’s have great students. I shouldn’t have gotten carried away by our rivalry in basketball,” Thorp tweeted.

Soon after this blog pointed out Thorp’s tweet, Brodhead jumped in with a classy response, via PR man Mike Schoenfeld.

Schoenfeld wrote in an e-mail to the News & Observer (later sent to us as well):

Brodhead doesn’t tweet but if he did this is what he would say:

Hey Holden, someone hacked your Twitter account to talk trash. May the best team win. From the land of TRUE Blue, Dick.

In an e-mail to The Chronicle, Brodhead said there’s no bad blood between him and Thorp.

“Chancellor Thorp has since apologized—whoever dreamed this was a big deal?—and of course there’s no hard feelings. Go Duke!,” he wrote.

On Twitter, the reactions to Thorp’s diss were more vitriolic.

“@chanthorp You’ve got to be kidding. Hard to believe you’re the Chancellor of a major university. Way to get down in the mud,” wrote devildad12.

And from KvilleTent2:”@chanthorp that is one of the most ignorant things we have ever heard. Shame on you for saying this, especially given your position,”