Louisville players got robbed with ban
Does the University of Louisville deserve to be in trouble should NCAA investigators find that claims of women being brought in to dance and have sex with men’s basketball players are true? Absolutely. But why crush the kids?
On Friday, Louisville announced that it was putting a self-imposed postseason ban on the 2015-16 season, thus ending any dreams of kids cutting down the nets. It was a brutal end to a promising season for these youngsters, who only have four losses on the year and are ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll.
Rumors and allegations have been circling head coach Rick Pitino and the school for years, and now things have finally caught up with them. Whether the allegations are true remains to be seen, but for a school to give itself up like that has to be somewhat an admission of guilt.
Unfortunately, it is the students that are paying the price. Pitino is still getting his millions of dollars. He’ll be around to go back to the NCAA Tournament for the umpteenth time, while some of the players are gone forever. The school will still collect money for tickets and souvenirs, laughing all the way to bank. Nobody gives a damn about those kids, most of which will never play pro and never see a dime for their efforts … and heartbreak.
Both Trey Lewis and Damion Lee transferred to Louisville with hopes to play in the tournament for the first time. Instead, the explosive backcourt tandem is left to wonder what the hell just happened. Still, incredibly, they don’t regret going to play with the Cardinals, per ESPN.
“We came here for a purpose and a mission, to play for a great school, and to play in the tournament, for a great coach,” Lewis said. “This is where your faith is truly tested. … Every day since we’ve been here, Coach has talked to us in terms of what it takes to win a championship.”
“No matter what, this school, city and community has been so welcoming to us,” Lee said. “There is no other place in the world we would rather go.”
Neither of those kids were anywhere near the campus when these alleged issues arose. It’s complete nonsense that either should pay the price.
The incredible thing? The NCAA doesn’t get it. It can impose sanctions or let the school do it to itself, but that won’t stop anything. The money keeps rolling in, and if the program is strong enough, so do the kids.
Want to really nip this issue in the bud once and for all? If a university gets caught doing something against NCAA rules of a serious nature, strip the coach and athletic director of significant pay and force the school to pay a massive fine.
Suddenly, everybody will get morals, and these kids won’t get unfairly punished.
