Thursday, August 13, 2009

Why Louisville didn't Fire Rick Pitino.

Rick Pitino falls in a long line of public figures from all walks of life that fall prey to beautiful women. My problem isn't with the juicy details of the romp in the restaurant. What's so funny is how the public is buying into that he only "slept" with her on one occasion. Sure it may seem wrong to speculate but its highly unlikely that a one time chance encounter has caused the amount of stress in the life of Rick Pitino.


The handwriting was on the wall. Athletic director Tom Jurich, stated that Pitino had been truthful" about the affair. Louisville President, Dr James Ramsey followed up with a statement expressing shock of the recent details surrounding his legendary coach's extortion case. So what we have is a three ring circus that mounts a strong legal team against the wolves of public opinion. Pitino would have us believe that he would drop 3,000 dollars for health insurance for someone he hardly knows. I guess he's in favor for universal health care.


Slick Rick would also have us to believe he's the real victim in this case because he hasn't been brought up on any charges. Sorry but I was born at night and not last night. The press conferences of the A.D. and Dr. Ramsey resembled a classic case of misdirection. It's the academic version of the stop snitching campaign. I'm going to be consistent. I do believe Rick should be fired for his personal indiscretions. It's not like he's Jim Harrick or Todd Bozeman. (As far as we know) However we should make fun of him for not using that million dollar contract to buy some condoms.

Plus he needs to start listening to hip hop to learn how to lie a little better. Its absurd that he would have the public believe that he had just laid eyes on her the first time that night.


What I find ironic is that sexual assault cases involving high profile public figures take on a different angle in the court of public opinion. Some people like their heroes "perfect" and unblemished. While others empathize with scandalous behavior considering they don't TMZ cameras trying to capture a Mike Price moment. Steve McNair's untimely death reminded us just how fragile hero worship really is. WE only know our sport heroes for what they do on the field battle.


The harsh reality is that some national sports columnist felt compelled to discredit McNair's charity work due to his infidelity. Strangely enough these same columnist didn't have the same indignation for a man who clearly has the same issues while he yet lives. The University of Louisville aren't that embarrassed considering Pitino had just led them to another 30 win season. Louisville enjoyed a season where they dominated the Big East, made a deep run in the NCAA tournament and had two players get drafted in the first round in the NBA draft.


WE don't fire those type of guys in America. The more wins and autographed copies of their books they give us the more likely we are to turn a blind eye when they behave badly. We actually demand players transfer if they get caught humping in the student center. Of course he's not the starting tailback either. What do we do about a successful coach that could probably make a gubernatorial run after his coaching days? Let him pass. George O'Leary can lie on his resume and get another job but a player can get kicked out of BYU just for going a little to far with a coed. Ah the sweet taste of hypocrisy. Guys like Gary Barnett and Rick Neuheisel can lose their jobs at the college level not for scandal but for not winning enough games to keep that postseason revenue coming in.


Larry Eustachy feels me if you don't. Tic Price, former Memphis Coach may want to chime in too. Winning cures adulterous casual sex like penicillin does for most STD's. (Just so you know I wouldn't know anything about that)


Pitino knew that coming forward in early July would help to cement some of his reputation. Consider it damage control at this stage because now his public persona is at stake. The civil case was brilliant considering that his would be baby mama didn't put a gun to his head to extort him. Maybe a boob and some fish nets but never a 357 magnum. That would've been to messy. We may never know how she got him to keep quiet about her alleged extortion for a period of six years. However it's not so hard to believe that he devised an escape plan better than most dishonest CEO's.


Coaches plot their escape for greener pastures all of the time. Memphis can definitely attest to that. Calipari sold them down the river by convincing R.C. Buford that the firestorm of academic fraud would blow over after the season. 3 months later he's holding a press conference reminiscent of Jimmy Swaggart's confession of loving Jesus more than the ladies of the evening. Jurich and Dr. Ramsey now have something to hold over Pitino's head. Can you imagine the guilt trip they'll lay on him if any other school comes knocking? They will play the tape of their three stooges impression that diverted the public firestorm from the University and most noteably him. As long as he continues to be competitive in the Big East, contends for a national championship and slaps Calipari around every year on the court and in recruiting, he can bang girls in the locker room like Magic used to do.


Winning is the core reason why public sports figures are allowed to get away with things that average citizens never will get away with. That's the real reason why the Louisville administration is standing behind Pitino. Nothing more and nothing less.

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