We’ve all heard the cliché that “history repeats itself”, and in some ways it’s true. If that is the case, and it very well might be, then history could repeat itself when it comes to the NCAA’s decision on the University of Louisville basketball scandal. You’ve all heard by now about what exactly happen in the Louisville scandal where their basketball of operations coach Andre McGee (and presumably someone else) paid for strippers/prostitutes, or as Louisville fans say “just women dancing in bikinis”, for sex for, at the time, players and recruits on their visits to the Louisville campus in the dorm rooms. Yes, this is a horrible occurrence and a terrible atmosphere for the women at Louisville and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. The media have had their opinions on what should happen, “Pitino should resign”, “Louisville should get sanctions”, and I completely agree with everything they are saying, but the NCAA may not agree, that is, if history repeats itself.
You see, about oh 52 years ago, one of the most legendary coaches of all time had nearly the same thing going on in his program, and it went above and beyond just prostitutes, the only difference is there was no backlash of the media or the NCAA. John Wooden’s first 16 seasons as a head coach Wooden went 200-143, the very next season Wooden and UCLA went 30-0 and won the National Championship. A little fishy right? Well, it is. His 17th year as head coach (1963) John Wooden brought in a very wealthy booster named Sam Gilbert. Gilbert owned an extremely successful construction company and his company was a great vehicle to pay for UCLA players cars, apartments, jewelry, prostitutes and abortions for the players girlfriends… HELLO!? The NCAA had to do something to John Wooden and UCLA right? Wrong. The NCAA did not do anything to the program, no bans, no wins stripped, no nothing. Was it because the NCAA didn’t want to do anything to their poster child? Who knows, but the fact is they didn’t do anything. I don’t want to come off arbitrarily aggressive towards John Wooden or UCLA but they did it, they know they did it, the NCAA knew about it and there was nothing done to them and that’s what really grinds my gears. If you want to read more about the John Wooden incident you can read my post about it a couple years ago here.
North Carolina didn’t have anything to do with prostitutes because they have a little more class, but what they did have is fake classes for their athletes. Fake classes means fake grades which makes players eligible to play in competition. It also should, in theory be against the rules to do these things. Not according to the NCAA. The NCAA did investigate North Carolina, and some people will say that sanctions will come down on North Carolina. Well, if they’re done with their investigation, then what the heck are they waiting for!? I mean you have players taking classes like dance appreciation 101, really? Come on, get a grip! Start coming down on these institutions that continually do things like this instead of playing patty cake with these schools and do your job.
The only thing that I can think of is these programs that don’t have anything done to them, like the Dukes and the UCLAs and the North Carolina’s is because they make the NCAA a ton of money. Schools like SMU, USC, UMass and Memphis who don’t make them money like the other schools do, they get appropriate punishment. The NCAA doesn’t want to lose their best programs or hurt their feelings. It’s time to grow up, have a back bone. Who knows what the NCAA will do to Louisville , but something needs to be done. If history repeats itself, as it often does, there will be nothing done to Louisville. So Louisville, you can rest easy if this is the case. All you have to do now going forward is pick your prostitutes better and better make sure they aren’t as resourceful as Katina Powell and write a book about what a disgrace your program has become.
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