Ah, so THIS is the end

In December after Mississippi State basketball Andy Kennedy was arrested following an altercation with a Cincinnati cab driver, he protested his innocence loud and long. So did his attorney,

"Frankly, the charges are absolutely not true,” the mouthpiece said. “This is not something we will tolerate and we will see this through until the end."

The end came Monday when Kennedy — that’s him being cuffed above — pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct and was sentenced to 40 hours community service and six months probation.

The incident — and Kennedy’s handling of it — didn’t get rave reviews from the Mississippi State administration.

"Andy should have handled this situation better as it relates to the time frame and subsequent dispute," said athletic director Pete Boone, who declined to extend Kennedy’s three-year contract despite acknowledging Kennedy’s on-the-court performance deserved it.

One of the ways the coach could have handled it better is not filing a defamation suit against the cab driver Mohamed Moctar Ould Jiddou, who told police Kennedy punched him in the face and called him a terrorist.

As of Wednesday, Kennedy’s lawsuit was still pending — but it probably won’t be helped by the fact that in court Kennedy apologized to Jiddou and a to valet who witnessed the incident and backed Jiddou’s story.

I'd love to see the mouthpiece spin that.