A little over a week ago there were no visible hints of the scandal about to converge on the University of Louisville basketball program. No one connected to the program could have imagined the fallout from the accusations of an admitted prostitute.

Life has changed, the controversy casting a cloud over the University one loves and supports, so much a part of our lives. An institution that has made so much progress in academia, in campus development, in athletics over the past decade or so.
halo stuff

For the next few months or so, expect a steady stream of finger pointing and preaching from local and national sports pundits, each trying to paint UofL than the last pundit. Having been a sportswriter at one point and associated with many of them over the years, I have always found it ironic that some of them consider themselves experts on morality.

All possibly because of the immature and foolish actions of someone associated with the program. Those actions negatively impacting thousands of people. The NCAA needs to find better ways of dishing out punishment to individual violators. They should have figured that out by now so the prospects of that happening are not good.

*  *  *

Rick Pitino expressing disappointment at not being mentioned by President Jim Ramsey in his statement of support for Tom Jurich as the investigation proceeds.

Shouldn’t have come as any surprise to Pitino, with his program the target of the investigation. Ramsey would have been premature to back the UofL coach with the probe only a few days old. Andre McGee was an assistant to Pitino, accused of organizing illicit and illegal activities.

Those who say Pitino should have known what was going on may or may not have a valid point. It’s common for women to be in men’s dormitories on college campuses. Often the dorms are co-ed so there’s constant interaction. With the way some young women dress these days, it is not as easy as it used to be to spot prostitutes. And they certainly don’t wear badges identifying what they do for their livelihoods.

If these activities did occur, the error may have been in the coach not ensuring that he had loyal people as supervisors at Minardi Hall willing or brave enough to report questionable conduct. Or maybe they didn’t consider it serious enough, trusting that nothing would come of it.

*   *   *

While it has nothing to do with the allegations or the investigation, let’s hope we find out who actually directed Katina Powell to the Indianapolis publishing company. Just too big a coincidence that she wound up at a book company managed by Patricia Keiffner, a former general manager at the Lexington Chamber of Commerce.

Share this

By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.

One thought on “A torrent of sermonizing for Louisville basketball”

Comments are closed.