As if a 1-6 start and a 20-point blowout loss at home were not enough to add more gray hairs to John Calipari's coiffure, the ongoing debate over the Wildcats' decision to kneel during the national anthem prior to their game last Saturday at Florida has only complicated matters.

Recent days have seen state and local officials take the UK basketball team to task for its peaceful protest, while some national publications have criticized Calipari for giving what they viewed as only lukewarm support for his players' cause.

"The social media has made it a lot different," Calipari said on Friday prior to the Cats traveling to Auburn. "You almost have to shut it down. What I tell (the players) is if you're going to read the good stuff, you need to read the bad stuff. You can't just shut it down because all of the sudden they're attacking you. If you're going to shut it down, you shut it down.

"I call it poison, all that stuff, from all forms of media or outside people... it's poison."

Kentucky sophomore forward Jacob Toppin attempted to set the record straight regarding the criticism stemming from the protest.

"Coach Cal loves his players," Toppin said. "He treats us like we were his sons, so he's never going to be against us. He's always for us and supporting us no matter what it is.

"... We saw what was said against our coach, and we didn't like it because that's a false narrative about him. He's a great guy, like I said, and a great coach who will always support us no matter what."

Calipari reiterated his support for the players on Friday. In previous statements, he offered full support of their protest but also pondered whether the timing was right and challenged his players to take positive action to bring people together in the future.

Those comments left his stance open to interpretation from some fans and media.

"I made the statement. I stand by these kids. I believe in these kids. They know that," Calipari said. "You march on and do what you think is right. Doing what's right is not always popular, and doing what's popular is not always right, and that's why you've got to fall back on your faith and your belief system."

Shielding the team from criticism is not easy in this day and age of coaching, Calipari conceded.

"And when you're at Kentucky, it's 10 times that. It can be the best thing, then it can turn on you and be the worst thing, if you let it. If you ignore both the good and the bad, you just keep marching on," the UK boss added.

Asked if he feels "under fire" of late, Calipari pointed out that criticism will always accompany the job.

"If I listened to what's coming out of the stands, and I listen to it, I'll be up there shortly," he said. "You just coach your team. When you focus on your team and you coach your team, and that's your focus, that stuff doesn't affect you."

Kentucky (4-7, 3-1 SEC) tips off against Auburn (7-6, 1-4 SEC) at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game will be broadcast by ESPN.