Rick Pitino still believes he should be the one to captain Louisville's basketball program through increasingly stormy waters
In a lengthy letter to fans posted to his personal website Thursday morning, Pitino reiterated he will not step down as coach of the Cardinals despite allegations that one of his former staffers paid strippers to dance for and have sex with players and recruits.
"First, above all, I’m sorry we all have to endure the pain of these allegations," Pitino wrote. "I so appreciate your support and friendships.
"I will not resign and let you down. Someday I will walk away in celebration of many memorable years but that time is not now. I do not fight these accusations by others but rather turn the other cheek. Couldn’t do it at 33, but at 63 it’s the wise thing to do. Let’s let the investigators do their job and we will play basketball."
Pitino's blog post comes in the wake of Louisville officials vouching for him the past two days. University president James Ramsey told reporters in Louisville that he has not had any discussions with Pitino about resigning and athletic director Tom Jurich also expressed support for the embattled coach.
No evidence has emerged proving that Pitino knew about the stripper parties former director of basketball operations Andre McGee allegedly organized, but that probably won't matter to the NCAA as it investigates. Under its current rules, the NCAA holds head coaches responsible for any violations that occur under their watch whether they maintain plausible deniability or not.
Pitino ended his letter to fans by imploring them to "Get fired up for another great season!" The way things have gone the past few weeks for Louisville, that's probably a lot to ask.
No comments:
Post a Comment