The rumor (emphasis on RUMOR), as I recall it, was this:
Van really wanted to come to UT, but his mom was (for reasons that the rumors never explained) very anti-UT and was aggressively steering him away from Knoxville. Basically, she was stonewalling us at every turn. An assistant (apparently Thig) got fed up with it and murmured "b***h" under his breath. She heard (or saw) it and was furious, leaving her even more determined to make sure Van didn't sign with UT.