Comments on: Why Rick Pitino Needs to Resign

By: Jonny F

Jonny F — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:16:12 +0000

Pitino should to the respectful thing and resign. There will be much more damaging and embarrassing information (true or not) coming out during the extortion trial. i have followed U of L basketball since Crum arrived. I am disappointed, but not surprised. As a parent of a former college basketball player, it was very important to my wife and I that our daughter played for a coach with high morals and character. This would have been her first time away from home for any extended time and so it was crucial that she went to a place where she would be molded into a better basketball player, but more importantly, a better human being. So, yes, It will have an impact on his recruiting.

By: michelle

michelle — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 15:30:22 +0000

If these are the standards U of L allows for the sake of winning, it’s not a school to send daughters for an education. Everyone is replaceable and it’s time Pitino found work elsewhere, particularly away from young people. There are plenty of good coaches who will focus on the sport instead of women, sex, and horse racing.

By: Walt Taylor

Walt Taylor — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 00:00:57 +0000

This incident is not going have a major impact on Pitino’s ability to recruit. Pitino recruits top 100 basketball players. Most of them are interested primariy in getting to the NBA, they are not looking for a father figure or a moral compass. Pitino has a track record of getting players to the NBA and his sex life doesn’t diminish that fact.

By: Melo_Time

Melo_Time — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:19:34 +0000

My personal opinion is that Pitino should resign based on his actions. And I agree with Ryan that parents won’t trust him. But then again wasn’t Pitino trying to go back to the NBA next season anyway?

But

I’ve heard reports already that Louisville is backing Pitino. So I guess keelex is right that it will blow over.

By: Ryan Desmarais

Ryan Desmarais — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:47:57 +0000

kellex,

I fully understand your point and you are partially correct that I wrote this piece with a strong opinion to get discussions flowing. It looks like it’s worked already and I thank you for the feedback.

The distraction is more like the icing on the cake more than anything else. The major reason why I feel Pitino should resign is because of his reputation and how this will affect Louisville’s ability to recruit. Like I said, parents care about these kind of situations and when they don’t trust the person who is going to oversee their child for some years, chances are they won’t consider it an option.

You could be right. it could all blow over and disappear. It’s possible. But if it doesn’t, it could affect the mindset of the team and cause a lot of problems. Who knows how everything’s going to play out, but I respect your opinion and I’m very glad you voiced it here. Thanks for reading.

By: kellex

kellex — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:12:32 +0000

I fully understand that you wrote this piece with a strong opinion to hopefully get responses in return, but come on. Resign? You are talking about one of the greatest coaches in NCAA history, and all you can come up with is that it’ll be a distraction?

If this was some rookie coach at some small time program I can understand having him step down, but this is Rick Pitino. This will all be gone by the time the season rolls around and no one will care anymore.