Not sure how it happens, but some college basketball coaches seem to believe they know as much about societal issues as they do about basketball. And they like to share that self-conferred wisdom.
Iona’s Rick Pitino falls into that large pile of self-immersed bloviates.
Yesterday, Pitino put on his epidemiologist cap and tweeted:
Suggestion to the NCAA, push the start of the season back to January and only play league games. Buy some more time for a vaccine and to get things under control. Although I can’t wait to be back on the sidelines, the health of my players and staff is what’s really important.
— Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) July 1, 2020
Nice of Pitino to weigh in. It’s a shame he didn’t know as much about NCAA compliance within his program at Louisville as he believes he knows about spread levels and dangers of the Covid-19 virus.
You remember Pitino from Louisville, don’t you? Hard to forget the book chronicling Katina Powell and her daughter among the hookers servicing Pitino’s players and recruits in a university dorm on the dime of his director of basketball ops. He’s still facing NCAA charges related to an assistant coach playing drop man in front of the Galt House Hotel with a recruit’s dad.
So now Pitino wants us to listen to his ridiculous bleating about pushing the season back to “buy some more time for a vaccine and to get things under control.” Thanks, Rick. I’m sure NCAA President Mark Emmert will take your generous guidance under advisement right after he penalizes you for your Level 2 violation at Louisville.
Covid-19 is a virus that requires respect, but no one knows what the next four months will bring. Less that four months ago, college basketball was being played in front of full houses on campuses across America. No one knows what this will look like on November 1 – not the smartest viral experts, and certainly not Pitino.
Vaccines are entering the third phase of trials and might be ready for deployment at some point in the fall. A treatment might be found that will change Covid-19 from killer to less severe pain in the ass. Maybe the worst happens, and the virus evolves into something even more sinister and deadly. Who knows?
Certainly not Pitino.
Because of their position of authority over a team and in front of media, some coaches begin to believe deeply in the infallibility of their logic and intellect. They spout ill-founded nonsense at every turn, as though their opinions matter. In the absence of people asking them societal questions at press availabilities, as is the case for Pitino now toiling at Iona of the MAAC, they take to Twitter as their outlet for ignorance presented as genius.
The result is the proliferation of foolishness. We can now add that to the ever-growing list of things we do not need from Rick Pitino.