Yet another scandal at Louisville! Nobody should be surprised. And nobody should be surprised with what happened today.
What exactly happened today? In my mind, it was the same "business as usual" mentality that has permeated U of L athletics for most of the last decade. With the news that at least two young men verified at least some of what the school has been accused of, predictably, U of L leadership reacted accordingly. And when I say accordingly, I mean predictably.
Louisville President James Ramsey found the time to publicly endorse his athletics director. I find that absolutely stunning. When you look at the culture Tom Jurich has created with his "win at any cost" mentality, how could any reasonable person not hold him responsible for the happenings within HIS athletics department?
I think the "Jurich culture" is at least partly to blame for this disaster. How many kids has U of L taken as transfers that few others (or no others) would touch? How was Rick Pitino not suspended for, say, one year due to his disgusting personal conduct reference the Sypher scandal? I still have no idea how Tom Jurich was able to bring back Bobby Petrino. This is a guy that couldn't have treated U of L worse prior to leaving the first time. I guess his gutless exit from Atlanta and abhorrent behavior in Fayetteville were also irrelevant to Jurich. I'm not saying Petrino didn't deserve to be considered for big time jobs (because he's a very good football coach), but U of L?
And so today, President Ramsey gives Jurich a pat on the back. Rick Pitino says he isn't going anywhere. THIS is the culture I'm talking about. At a minimum, IMO anyway, Rick Pitino should be suspended until U of L has a reason to "un-suspend' him. His claims that he knew nothing are essentially irrelevant. It's clear now that things happened under his watch. This man has already proven that he's void of integrity and character. This makes two massive scandals in a 5-6 year window. How is he still being allowed to influence young people?
Then there's Tom Jurich. I have little doubt that he knew nothing of hookers and strippers, but this is the culture HE created. HE allowed Willie Williams to transfer in. HE allowed Devonte Fields to transfer in. HE kept Rick Pitino. HE brought back Petrino. And I won't even mention the fleece job reference the Yum Center. When you "roll the dice" on these things, you're supposed to pay the price if things go wrong. Well, things have gone horribly wrong.
IMO, Tom Jurich should be fired. If the university keeps him, they're just endorsing the culture that has led to embarrassment after embarrassment for the city, state, and university.
GBB!!!
