Update: Gary Parrish sounds a similar note for CBS Sportsline.
Billy Reed writes that with Rick Pitino, the damage is done. William F. is right. At this point, it’s not really important whether Pitino’s claim of an extortion attempt proves to be true, or if Karen Sypher’s undisclosed claims have validity. What is important is that they have commanded the public’s attention, especially the local public, these past five days. For Pitino, that’s not good.
Pitino isn’t just a basketball coach. He’s the face of a program. Billy Gillispie learned that, to his detriment, at Kentucky. No different with Rick. He doesn’t just coach. He helps fund-raise, endorses products, partners with coroporate sponsors, and, maybe most improtantl, visits the homes of potential recruits.
You wonder how a messy he-said/she-said saga will play in those scenarious. Time will pass. People will forget. But not all people. Coaches are not immune from personal problems, but not all are played out in such a public forum, in such an unseemly way. Rick isn’t just any coach. He’s won a national title. He’s taken teams to a quartet of Final Fours. Other than the “Man Possessed” feature by William Nack in Sports Illustrated a few years back, there has been little to sully his reputation.
I don’t know enough to pass judgement on Billy’s blasting of Channel 41 in all of this. For those of us outside the ‘Ville, it was baffling why Pitino would release a statement Saturday night about something in the media when that something could not be found in media. It appeared to be pre-emptive strike, if a risky one. It’s too soon to know for sure if it worked.
I do agree with something I heard Larry Glover say the other night on WVLK. Paraphrasing, Glover said that in situations such as this, the rich and powerful rarely lose to those who aren’t rich and powerful..
But in a way, he’s already lost. While John Calipari is out creating stories by chasing top-notch talent, Pitino is trying to knock down attacks on his reputation, one that can never quite be the same.
Pitino is a slug…..where’s the salt?
Rick Pitino is a great basketball coach and recruiter so I don’t care how many blondes he has relationships with.
Concerning Glover’s comments, and your agreement with them, the problem for people wanting to know more about this is that it appears the local media is too scared of Jurich to do any real digging and the national media, led my Pitino’s business partners at ESPN (Forde and Vitale) are not going to report and investigate anything that might hurt the rep of their close friend.
Sad really. The powerful (news media) protect the rich and powerful (Rick). Be it politics or sports, it is yet another reason people search for news/info outside of the traditional media.
Kevin, by “search for news/info outside of the traditional media” I take it you mean rumor, innuendo, and unproven accusations. I don’t doubt that Jurich and others have put the pressure on WDRB and others not to air the Sypher interview. On the other hand, if serious accusations were made against you, would you want the media to air those allegations without verifying their accuracy?
John- During the UK coaching change, the mainstream media was more than happy to report on all manner of speculation, even citing other outlets that clearly had poor information.
Isn’t existance of allegations news, even if not reported as fact? Really, since he is publically accusing her of committing extortion, hasn’t he opened the door for a report of what the threat was?
I realize this is a slippery slope, but it does seem that the story is being treated differently.
If it is being treated differently, I think the difference is that the Pitino case apparently involves scandalous personal allegations. This isn’t job-status gossip, or recruiting gossip. This is serious stuff. It’s serious enough that WDRB says it gave Sypher a lie-detector test that produced “inconclusive” results. I can understand the station’s wariness in presenting unsubstantiated information.
If this was Alex Rodriguez this “journalistic integrity” would have gone out the window and the rumor, innuendo, and unproven accusations would be out there on ESPN, the LHL, and every paper or website in between.
The LHL investigated the Billy G. rumors, such as the Merrick Pool, and they were proven false. If you had confirmed those stories, I am sure you still would have printed them. Why not do some legwork and track down the info?
Mister Clay, if Pitino’ statement is “pre-emptive strike”, why shouldn’t your blog be considered a “pre-emptive attack” on Pitino?
I was taught long ago that facts are the spice in an article, and there’s still little to none evidence that the coach was involved in any wrongdoing.
If what happened is already sufficient to drag him in the mud, well, there must be something wrong in the way you judged the whole situation.
And, by the way, I am a Boston Celtics fan, so in no way I can be considered on Rick Pitino’s side….
Fabio Anderle