What The Heck…Rick Pitino?

We all know the hot water Rick Pitino has gotten himself in. He had sex at a bar (eeew?) with a woman who probably approached him while he was drinking and they found themselves doing the deed and now the deed has been done and then she got pregnant and asked him to help out with the abortion so he gave her 3 grand and that was supposed to cover up the whole deal but it didn’t and she cried “rape” but it wasn’t and now Pitino finds himself trying to smooth over the whole situation with his wife and family (5 kids? Seriously Rick?) and the media. It’s a story not necessarily new to the rich & famous. It’s called “golddigging” and it happens quite often, I’m pretty sure. Women are attracted to rich & famous guys. They give it up to rich & famous guys to SAY they gave it up to a rich & famous guy. And rich & famous guys take the bait…hook, line & sinker.

Eventually common sense gives way to drunken stupid guy-ness and a celebrity gets into a mess like this. It’s dumb. And in the case of Rick Pitino, not the smartest thing to do in one of the more religious parts of the country. Seriously…in Kentucky…there’s a church on every corner, on every dirt road, in every tiny town in appalachia. You just don’t go hoein’ around and get caught without people breaking out the pitchforks and wanting some kind of retribution. So Pitino stuck his tail between his legs and proceeded to announce that he HAD made a mistake but the allegations that he had raped this woman were absolutely false. And so that makes it better. Right?

And then he had a press conference yesterday where he said this…and I quote…

“Enough’s enough…everybody is tired of it. We need to get on with the important things in life like the economy and really crucial things in life like basketball.”

This is a direct quote taken from the Cincinnati Enquirer today.

Um…yeah. I don’t know who he thinks he’s fooling. I realize HE’S probably tired of hearing about it. It was HIS mistake. So for the media and the people of Kentucky to just up and forget about it? It’s not gonna happen. You were stupid and you are a very public figure. You’ve lived in the spotlight in this state for years and you have deserved it. You are an iconic figure in the history of 2 prolific basketball schools and you have done great things with each program. So you screw around with that (no pun intended), then you just expect people to NOT want to know about it? Don’t be an idiot.

And then you say we need to get on with MORE important things…like the economy…and BASKETBALL? Just an FYI to you, Mr. Pitino…basketball is NOT crucial in life. Basketball is a sport. It is played or enjoyed by fans only for entertainment purposes. To lump basketball (or any sport) into the “crucial” things in life is misguided and stupid. Or maybe you’ve overestimated what your purpose really is. Your purpose, celebrity or not, is to coach young men and to help guide them in a path that leads them on to be better people. Whether they go on to play professional basketball or own their own business or collecting trays at the local McDonalds, they need to have someone to look up to who is a strong person. Someone who is a father figure at a crucial time in their lives. I imagine when you pitch to parents to lure their kid to your college to play basketball THAT is in your sales pitch. That you can be the father away from their home.

Well…you’re not MY father. And I don’t look up to you in any way. You are a basketball coach who screwed up. The only people you truly need to answer to is your wife, your kids, and the young men on your basketball team who thought you were above this mess. Anyone can make a mistake. You did and you are paying for it. But to make statements like the one above is brash and arrogant. You’re a public figure. We are the public. We love you when you’re winning. We criticize when you’re losing. And when you make stupid comments like this one…well…we think you’re a putz. Suck it up and deal with it.

Now…I gotta go and start looking at my fantasy basketball team for this year. Apparently it’s CRUCIAL that I concern myself with these things…