From the Courier-Journal:
The other shoe has dropped, and it bears three stripes.
If you’ve wondered how Rick Pitino has recruited so well while his University of Louisville basketball program awaits NCAA sanctions, the most logical and cynical answer would appear to be correct:
Cheating.
If Adidas bought Brian Bowen’s commitment to U of L on the installment plan — in four payments totaling about $100,000 — that would explain the heretofore unsolved mystery of how a five-star forward suddenly landed in Pitino’s lap this summer.
In the wake of the Katina Powell/Andre McGee scandal, with the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions planning to vacate U of L’s 2013 NCAA championship, Pitino’s program appears to have maintained its competitive edge by cutting legal and ethical corners. The story Pitino told on Terry Meiners’ radio show in June now sounds like a fraudulent fable.
“We got lucky on this one,” Pitino said then. “I had an AAU director call me and ask me if I’d be interested in a great player. I saw him against another great player from Indiana. I said, ‘Yeah, I’d be really interested.’ They had to come in unofficially, pay for their hotel, pay for their meals. We spent zero dollars recruiting a five-star athlete who I loved when I saw him play. In my 40 years of coaching, this is the luckiest I’ve been.”
The FBI tells a much different and more persuasive story, of Adidas’ James Gatto and Merl Code conspiring with sports agent Christian Dawkins and financial advisor Munish Sood (with the knowledge of an unnamed U of L coach) to funnel $100,000 to the family of “Player-10,” in order to get that player to commit to play at “University-6.”
The University of Louisville has confirmed its inclusion in the FBI investigation and pledged its cooperation. Pitino issued a statement Tuesday evening asserting, "These allegations come as a complete shock to me," and expressing his commitment to take "whatever steps are needed to ensure those responsible are held accountable."
As the man ultimately responsible for the U of L basketball program, Pitino can only duck so much of that responsibility after two years dominated by a previous scandal. Whether it can be demonstrated that he had direct knowledge of the activities alleged by the FBI can no longer be the litmus test about whether he can or should keep his job. There is simply too much scandal surrounding this program to justify preserving the status quo; too much implausible deniability to get past.
Whatever chance U of L had of softening its NCAA sanctions on appeal has surely evaporated. Tuesday’s news is sure to spark another investigation likely to bring additional and more severe penalties to a repeat offender.
It always seemed improbable that Pitino would have condoned sex parties at Minardi Hall to ensure visiting recruits left town with smiles on their faces. The risk was too great in relation to the potential return, and a Hall of Fame coach was sure to see that the danger of detection could leave a permanent stain on his career.
Yet whatever benefit of the doubt Pitino has banked over the years, he is now overdrawn. His culpability as an assistant coach in infractions committed at the University of Hawaii, his tawdry affair with Karen Sypher, the misdeeds of Andre McGee and this newest corruption case adds up to a critical mass that cannot be easily explained away or excused.
.... If Pitino cannot be convinced to resign for the good of all concerned — and his resignation still seems the most probable scenario at this point — firing him for "just cause" has now become a more plausible option.
The full story: http://www.courier-journal.com/stor...-adidas-scandal-college-basketball/704604001/
The other shoe has dropped, and it bears three stripes.
If you’ve wondered how Rick Pitino has recruited so well while his University of Louisville basketball program awaits NCAA sanctions, the most logical and cynical answer would appear to be correct:
Cheating.
If Adidas bought Brian Bowen’s commitment to U of L on the installment plan — in four payments totaling about $100,000 — that would explain the heretofore unsolved mystery of how a five-star forward suddenly landed in Pitino’s lap this summer.
In the wake of the Katina Powell/Andre McGee scandal, with the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions planning to vacate U of L’s 2013 NCAA championship, Pitino’s program appears to have maintained its competitive edge by cutting legal and ethical corners. The story Pitino told on Terry Meiners’ radio show in June now sounds like a fraudulent fable.
“We got lucky on this one,” Pitino said then. “I had an AAU director call me and ask me if I’d be interested in a great player. I saw him against another great player from Indiana. I said, ‘Yeah, I’d be really interested.’ They had to come in unofficially, pay for their hotel, pay for their meals. We spent zero dollars recruiting a five-star athlete who I loved when I saw him play. In my 40 years of coaching, this is the luckiest I’ve been.”
The FBI tells a much different and more persuasive story, of Adidas’ James Gatto and Merl Code conspiring with sports agent Christian Dawkins and financial advisor Munish Sood (with the knowledge of an unnamed U of L coach) to funnel $100,000 to the family of “Player-10,” in order to get that player to commit to play at “University-6.”
The University of Louisville has confirmed its inclusion in the FBI investigation and pledged its cooperation. Pitino issued a statement Tuesday evening asserting, "These allegations come as a complete shock to me," and expressing his commitment to take "whatever steps are needed to ensure those responsible are held accountable."
As the man ultimately responsible for the U of L basketball program, Pitino can only duck so much of that responsibility after two years dominated by a previous scandal. Whether it can be demonstrated that he had direct knowledge of the activities alleged by the FBI can no longer be the litmus test about whether he can or should keep his job. There is simply too much scandal surrounding this program to justify preserving the status quo; too much implausible deniability to get past.
Whatever chance U of L had of softening its NCAA sanctions on appeal has surely evaporated. Tuesday’s news is sure to spark another investigation likely to bring additional and more severe penalties to a repeat offender.
It always seemed improbable that Pitino would have condoned sex parties at Minardi Hall to ensure visiting recruits left town with smiles on their faces. The risk was too great in relation to the potential return, and a Hall of Fame coach was sure to see that the danger of detection could leave a permanent stain on his career.
Yet whatever benefit of the doubt Pitino has banked over the years, he is now overdrawn. His culpability as an assistant coach in infractions committed at the University of Hawaii, his tawdry affair with Karen Sypher, the misdeeds of Andre McGee and this newest corruption case adds up to a critical mass that cannot be easily explained away or excused.
.... If Pitino cannot be convinced to resign for the good of all concerned — and his resignation still seems the most probable scenario at this point — firing him for "just cause" has now become a more plausible option.
The full story: http://www.courier-journal.com/stor...-adidas-scandal-college-basketball/704604001/
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