Louisville Basketball: Rick Pitino, other coaches part of broken system

Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino started out on the right foot by stating the NCAA’s system of enforcement is broken, but such critiques must go much farther.

In fine Rick Pitino fashion, the Louisville Cardinals coach took to the podium Saturday and began pointing fingers.Unlike previous moments when former assistant coach Andre McGee was the object of Pitino’s scorn, the long-time bench boss went after the NCAA this time around.

“Let me say this — the system is broken,” Pitino told ESPN.

Yes, Rick, it is.

But let’s be clear on what is truly broken in college sports. Is it an over-reliance on athletics to generate revenue? Maybe unscrupulous coaches and boosters willing to do anything to win? Or administrators systematically looking the other way when misdeeds occur right under their uppity noses?

Nope.

According to Pitino, none of it is as egregious as the enforcement policies of college sports’ governing body.

“We should be penalized, no question about it. But not this team,” Pitino continued. “I believe we should be hit with a heavy, heavy financial fine. … Where you really hit a university is their wallet. Where you really hurt a coach is his wallet.”

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On the surface, Pitino has a point.

In actively encouraging millions of dollars to be generated by athletics, the NCAA has done very little to discourage dirty behavior within its prized collection of big boys. And (as reported by Sports Illustrated) with Syracuse currently riding out some ugly sanctions, North Carolina in the crosshairs of a seemingly never-ending investigation and now Louisville staring down the barrel of an enforcement gun, the NCAA is hopefully beginning to realize the depth of their own failings in such regard.

Willful or not, the NCAA bears plenty of blame for a system that is indeed broken.

Pitino refused to acknowledge the term “broken” extends far beyond college athletics governing body however. In other words, the NCAA isn’t the only entity with dirt on its hands in a time of back-room recruiting deals and academic malfeasance.

It’s time for coaches such as Pitino to finally step up, look in the mirror and do some soul searching. Even the most incredible level of mental gymnastics fails to see how NCAA punishments are to blame for Louisville’s previous practice of doling out escort services to recruits. Yet that was essentially the message Pitino conveyed.

In Pitino’s eyes, fines should constitute the ultimate form of punishment. Not a reduction of scholarships. Not a post-season ban. Rather, it should all come down to dollar signs. Such is the only way to avoid punishing the innocent he says.

Sounds good at first glance. But it doesn’t take long to see there are fundamental problems with Pitino’s stance.

First, no level of fine is going to keep rogue programs from operating beyond the law, especially if a lack of scholarships or post-season bans is included. Slick coaches and administrators will simply maintain the status quo in perpetuity. A fine every few years? No problem. We’re still winning games and heading to the NCAA Tournament on a yearly basis.

Second, does anyone really think fines are going to serve as a more effective deterrent than previous approaches? The NCAA has always sold its enforcement policy as an important step towards deterrence.

Apr 6, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; NCAA president Mark Emmert speaks at a press conference before the national championship game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Connecticut Huskies at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

In many ways, schools have never been less deterred.

Going back to the time of past president Myles Brand, the NCAA has admitted cheating is rampant. Yet little has been achieved in keeping programs with spotty reputations from continuing on their merry way.

With a few notable exceptions, elite power schools have been able to avoid meaningful penalties through negotiation or by playing politics. The result? An era where one-year bans here or miniscule reductions in scholarships there are considered “harsh.”

Under Pitino’s approach, even those “harsh” punishments would disappear. And writing a few checks isn’t going to change any of it.

If anything, crack-downs need to come with more fervor and fury. Really want to send a message? Slap these schools silly until they actually learn a lesson.

Sadly, don’t expect any of it to happen.

The NCAA makes untold millions under the current system while trotting out a narrative of concern for the student athlete. Meanwhile, coaches, players and administrators bask in the glow of dollar signs and celebrity status.

More busting brackets: NCAA Tournament Busting Bracketology

In other words, the broken machine keeps chugging along without hindrance.

Pitino may have started on the right foot. But make no mistake, there’s more than enough faulty parts in this machine for everyone, coaches included, to share the blame.

The sooner we all admit it, the sooner a lasting solution can finally be found.

Louisville Basketball: Rick Pitino, colleagues part of broken system

By Matt Johnson | Feb 9, 2016

Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino started out on the right foot by stating the NCAA’s system of enforcement is broken, but such critiques must go much farther.