One of today’s headline stories concerns Rick Pitino, basketball coach and high priest of the Louisville Cardinals. The headline said that he was ‘effectively’ fired. I don’t follow the sport very closely but I do know he has been very successful over the years. The fact that I even recognized his name is testimony.
So I was curious as to why a highly successful college basketball coach would be fired, ‘effectively’ or otherwise. When we see a high profile firing like this, two things come to mind, two things that come to mind in ANY scandal: Money or sex. In this particular case, we hit the daily double.
College sports are big bu$ine$$. BIG. Having a winning team requires recruiting the best young athletes possible. Rick Pitino and his crew did a very good job of that. Sadly, it seems to have involved breaking the rules and even the law.
The story I read alleges that high school prospects were given illegal payments. This followed Pitino and his crew being sanctioned by the N.C.A.A for providing PROSTITUTES to potential recruits. DAMN! I sure wish I was younger, taller, and had some athletic ability. Oh well! Luckily I can afford my own prostitutes… there’s that.
Were all these high school recruits over 18? I have no idea but I have my doubts. I am not an investigative reporter and don’t really care except that if an ordinary person were convicted of that type of ‘human trafficking,’ I doubt it would only merit a wrist slap.
But I guess I am just resentful because nobody values my rebounding ability enough to comp me a call girl.
But who said life was fair?