In the news dump of all news dumps, head coach Rick Pitino has announced a self-imposed postseason ban for Louisville this season. The news was first reported by The Louisville Courier-Journal.
The ban is in response to allegations made by Katina Powell that former men’s basketball staffer Andre McGee hired her to provide escort services to the Cardinals’ program, allegations that prompted both internal and NCAA investigations as early as last October. According to Powell, McGee hired her to bring more than two dozen strippers and dancers to a UL dorm room where they entertained and, in certain instances, had sex with former players and recruits.
Pitino’s team currently sits at 18-4 overall, 7-2 in ACC play, fighting for a league title just one game back of North Carolina and firmly situated to be an NCAA Tournament team come March.
In situations like these, programs often face the challenge of deciding whether to institute such penalties on themselves immediately or in the future. If done for the current season, they risk alienating current players and costing upperclassmen the chance to continue their careers beyond the final regular season game. If done in the future, the program handicaps themselves in their recruiting efforts, having to go into homes of recruits and convincing them that playing in the postseason isn’t the best part of playing at a university like Louisville.
It’s a lose-lose situation for the program and its figureheads, but they–who are paid millions of dollars to man their positions–aren’t the ones that suffer most. In reality, it is the players, hamstrung by labels of amateurism and NCAA bylaws, that suffer the most.
Senior transfers Damion Lee and Trey Lewis both arrived at UL from mid-major programs with dreams of leading a college basketball power back to the heights it reached just a few years ago when it lifted the NCAA Tournament championship trophy. Now, they are punished for the actions of their coaches, their mentors, and the established persons of power that enabled such a disastrous culture to exist.
