Gotta give Rick credit...
In both sex scandals, he has successfully pivoted the narrative to make himself the victim, when in both cases he or his institution was the perpetrator.
This seems unusual. Most of the coaches' compensation presumably comes from sources outside of the institution, yet they themselves are do not appear to be the object of the audit. Might relate to tax gross-up payments from UL. Interested in opinion from someone with legal/ tax background.
Disagree. I think they will hammer Louisville to show they still have power over the institutions. Plus, the sordid, criminal nature of the UL story makes it really difficult for the NCAA to be "soft"
I think all of Pitino's public comments are carefully orchestrated to position himself for the $50M buyout. The more he talks, the more he risks antagonizing the NCAA investigators, which hurts UL.more than himself personally. He is building leverage against his employer.
Re: UNC - school and athletic administrators violated institutional academic integrity.
Re: UL- coach(es) committed a felony to lure recruits.
Both are serious NCAA violations; but you can argue UL's is worse due to its unlawful nature.
The NCAA is interviewing Blakeney tomorrow for a 2nd time. The Blakeney sex show was the one arranged by McGee when he was at UMKC. This might be the key to identifying coach Mike. Someone at UL had to let Blakeney know that entertainment was showing up at his hotel.
McGee could likely cut some type of immunity deal with the NCAA in return for providing the smoking gun that buries Pitino and the UL program. But, McGee's attorney is a huge UL supporter whose interests are much more aligned with UL than McGee. Would not be shocking if UL money source is...
David Padgett, who is married to the daughter of Pitino's best buddy Ron Carmicle, was promoted to assistant coach minutes after UL's last game of the season at UVA. It is unheard of to make such a promotion so soon after the end of the season, particularly with such uncertainty about the future...
All joking aside, federal and state laws were broken by a member of the UL coaching staff for the sole purpose of recruiting student athletes to the basketball program. That fact alone makes this one of the most serious and potentially damaging cases in NCAA history.