An emotional Penny Hardaway went on the offensive this week, firing off on multiple local media outlets he perceives as "haters."

During a radio appearance Thursday on The Voice of MSCS' "TaylorMade Sports," the seventh-year Memphis basketball coach and four-time NBA All-Star calls himself an "easy target" for criticism, especially after the Tigers missed the NCAA Tournament following a 15-2 start to the 2023-24 season. But Hardaway said some of what has been written in recent months has crossed a line.

"It's not even about reporting about what we do and how we do it. It's more personal," he said. "I can read through it. I see everything. I keep all receipts. I just laugh, because every single thing this year from the smallest thing has been reported or an article written on it. And there's been a lot more negative and personal things toward me this year out of all years, because to me it was a layup."

Hardaway covered a range of topics during the interview with Marcus Taylor and DJ Brother John, which spanned more than an hour — including the Tigers' disappointing 7-8 finish that culminated with a one-and-done showing at the AAC Tournament in March.

"I'm not going into my seventh year where I want to be, because my standards are high," he said. "But per college coach and the ladders that you're climbing, I was really ascending until this year, when we failed. And it doesn't sit well with me.

"(But) you've got somebody in your corner that's always constantly thinking about how to be better, how to get it right. I'll be the first one to go, 'Hey, man I can't do it. I'm done.' Before I let someone else, that's just a hater, tell me, 'You need to leave.'"

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Hardaway also opened up more about the ongoing health issues his mother, Fae, is experiencing and the effect it has had on him. He described a series of events that unfolded on the day of a game last season that involved his mother and a major health scare.

"I never let what they said about me bother me. because I was so locked in on my mom, that I didn't really care about the noise," he said. "It was already hard enough trying to win. It was difficult, because I came home from a shootaround, saw my mom laying on the floor, mouth twisted, knew she had a stroke. Had to call my cousin to rush her to the hospital while I went back to the game and I went to the hospital after the game. So what the media was saying wasn't bothering me. I spent from November to March at the hospital. I never ever used it as an excuse. I never said, 'My mom's sick, I'm messed up.' Because I still have a job."

Hardaway added his mother's health issues began before the 2023-24 season. During the Tigers' trip to Orlando, Florida., in November 2022 for the ESPN Events Invitational, he said she was dealing with COVID-19 and pneumonia when she had a stroke that kept her in an Orlando hospital until the tournament was over.

"(The doctor) was like, 'As soon as you land (in Memphis), take her straight to the hospital,'" Hardaway said. "That's the type of stuff I deal with on my own, because I don't need the sympathy. I know that's life. I put my job here, I put my family life here. And I deal with it. So you'll never hear me make excuses about that."

Hardaway has long been outspoken that his primary motivation as the Tigers' coach is to make the city proud. He hammered that point home again Thursday.

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"I'm not sitting here saying I've reached the potential that I've wanted to reach for our city," he said. "But, man, my work ethic — me in the lab, me doing what I'm supposed to do — is there 1000%. They don't understand how hard this job really is. We're in a conference that's not respected. It's tough, but I'm the dude for the job.

"Because it's a care factor that's out of this world that I'm not trying to let us down. It's not just about a check. It's about trying to figure it out to win for us so we can have something positive in our city. I'm trying my best. It's sleepless nights, going, 'Man, you've gotta get this together.' Not for me. For the city, because I could leave. I could leave right now. But I also still try to be loyal to my city. That's going to always override the hate. I can take the bumps, the bruises, the punches, the stumps and all that. Because I know I'm focused on trying to help my city. For the people who do that, those are the people who aren't helping at all. Again, I'm an easy target. That's all I'll say."

Hardaway also said he feels an obligation to his alma mater to return the basketball program back to prominence before his time at Memphis is over.

"(Because) I feel like, if I leave, it's going to go down hard," he said. "So I gotta take the bumps and the hits. I'm fighting in the ring and in the corner right now. I'm fighting both."

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway rips media