Bluegrassrivals

Rick Pitino....
Head coach of the UK Men's basketball team from 1989-1997.
He coached the 1996 team to the National Championship and brought UK back from the dead after severe sanctions in the late 80's. He led the Wildcats to an overall 219-50 record, six straight NCAA tournaments, five SEC tournament championships, two regular season SEC championships & seven straight winning seasons, all with over 26+ wins.

He left UK after the 1997 season to coach the Boston Celtics.

But then, he returned to the Bluegrass state and became the head coach of the worst possible team.... the loserville cardinals. Since then, he has became the biggest villain towards UK as possible. Going 6-12 vs. Kentucky in head-to-head games and making the most outlandish statements about UK, their fans and the state.

His career at UofL is now FOREVER tainted. The Karen Sypher trial, StripperGate/Katina Powell scandal, having the 2013 National Championship vacated, flipping off the UK crowd at Rupp Arena after the 2015 game and now being referred to in a Federal Indictment as [Coach-2] in reference to UofL's [University-6] involvement in the FBI investigation. He has been placed on 10-Day administrative leave without pay and is all but fired as the head coach. The UofL president & chairman of the Board of Trustees admitted in a press conference that they are [University-6] that is named in the Federal Indictment. On Thursday, multiple respectable media outlets revealed that sources with knowledge of the investigation told them that Rick Pitino is [Coach-2]. Pitino has denied he had any knowledge of the StripperGate/Katina Powell scandal and now is denying he had any knowledge of the events described in the Indictment. The USAO for the Southern District of New York & the FBI have said they have audio & video recordings of the allegations.

He has turned two fan bases against him that used to all but worship the ground he walked on. He will NEVER be welcomed back in Rupp Arena and now will NEVER be welcomed back in the KFC Yum! Center.



So to my question and poll topic.... should UK remove Rick Pitino's individual jersey from the rafters. Of course leaving up the 1996 championship banner and all the players who played under him during his time at UK (but Richie Farmer's), but remove his based on the scandles he has been involved with over the past 10+ years.
Even though he wasn't at UK when all of this happened, IMO, having your jersey in the rafters at Rupp is an honor.... and yes, IMO, Richie Farmer's needs to be removed as well, and that is long over due.

[Image: attachment.php?attachmentid=3601&d=1506904295]

I don't think it should come down. He resurrected UK when they had hit rock bottom. He took a bunch of misfits and Mashburn and took them to the elite eight and was an amazing shot away from the final four. He is largely responsible for three straight national title appearances and two national titles in three years (yes Tubby did the coaching for one title while Pitino had done the recruiting) and could very well have been three straight national titles barring an injury. I don't think you can take all that away from him. If you take it down you should take down anything of Cal's for the trouble he caused at UMASS and Memphis.

I would not get to gitty just yet. This thing could turn a whole lot of ways. If these people in trouble start trying to save there butts. This thing could get ugly for a bunch of schools.

Westside Wrote:I don't think it should come down. He resurrected UK when they had hit rock bottom. He took a bunch of misfits and Mashburn and took them to the elite eight and was an amazing shot away from the final four. He is largely responsible for three straight national title appearances and two national titles in three years (yes Tubby did the coaching for one title while Pitino had done the recruiting) and could very well have been three straight national titles barring an injury. I don't think you can take all that away from him. If you take it down you should take down anything of Cal's for the trouble he caused at UMASS and Memphis.

UMass brought Cal back twenty years after their Final 4 season in 96'. They chose to bring him back after this long. If they really though he was that big of a crook or as dirty as everybody thinks he is... there is no way they would hang a banner for him in their arena. The Marcus Camby investigation proved that Cal knew nothing about what had took place.

[Image: attachment.php?attachmentid=3602&d=1506922237]

[Image: attachment.php?attachmentid=3603&d=1506922829]



[Coach-2]'s banner was hung in Rupp Arena before all of his scandals. Times change, people change. We
Knowing what we know now and based on what has been proven.... there is NO WAY anybody can tell me Pitino's banner would be hung up twenty years after the '96 season like Calipari's is.

Westside Wrote:I don't think it should come down. He resurrected UK when they had hit rock bottom. He took a bunch of misfits and Mashburn and took them to the elite eight and was an amazing shot away from the final four. He is largely responsible for three straight national title appearances and two national titles in three years (yes Tubby did the coaching for one title while Pitino had done the recruiting) and could very well have been three straight national titles barring an injury. I don't think you can take all that away from him. If you take it down you should take down anything of Cal's for the trouble he caused at UMASS and Memphis.

Memphis will probably never honor Cal... he was only there nine seasons and left them with a bad taste in their mouth.

Again, the Derrick Rose situation wasn't Cal's fault either, the NCAA's letter even said Calipari is not considered at risk in the investigation. The NCAA ruled him eligible, but after the season said his SAT couldn't be validated.

Westside Wrote:I don't think it should come down. He resurrected UK when they had hit rock bottom. He took a bunch of misfits and Mashburn and took them to the elite eight and was an amazing shot away from the final four. He is largely responsible for three straight national title appearances and two national titles in three years (yes Tubby did the coaching for one title while Pitino had done the recruiting) and could very well have been three straight national titles barring an injury. I don't think you can take all that away from him. If you take it down you should take down anything of Cal's for the trouble he caused at UMASS and Memphis.

Pulp Fiction Wrote:UMass brought Cal back twenty years after their Final 4 season in 96'. They chose to bring him back after this long. If they really though he was that big of a crook or as dirty as everybody thinks he is... there is no way they would hang a banner for him in their arena. The Marcus Camby investigation proved that Cal knew nothing about what had took place.

[Image: attachment.php?attachmentid=3602&d=1506922237]

[Image: attachment.php?attachmentid=3603&d=1506922829]



[Coach-2]'s banner was hung in Rupp Arena before all of his scandals. Times change, people change.
Knowing what we know now and based on what has been proven.... there is NO WAY anybody can tell me Pitino's banner would be hung up twenty years after the '96 season like Calipari's is.

Pulp Fiction Wrote:Memphis will probably never honor Cal... he was only there nine seasons and left them with a bad taste in their mouth.

Again, the Derrick Rose situation wasn't Cal's fault either, the NCAA's letter even said Calipari is not considered at risk in the investigation. The NCAA ruled him eligible, but after the season said his SAT couldn't be validated.

Calipari having no knowledge that Marcus Camby took money from an agent while still in college & playing somebody who was ruled eligible before the season started, but then that player was ruled ineligible after the season is not even close to Pitino's recent track of greatest hits (an affair/abortion/extortion scandal, allowing stripper parties in dorm rooms, and being part of an FBI investigation of the biggest NCAA scandal in history).

Cal has been cleared on both of these situations. Let's be real, the majority of the national media HATES Cal. If something was there, they would have found it by now. Sandy Bell would also be on the case faster than blink.


- The Karen Sypher at Porcinis scandal that led to a Federal trial and prison time for Sypher. Even though he wasn't charged with a crime or NCAA violation.... this type of scandal/behavior would have got him fired from any other coaching job in college athletics.

- The stripper/sex scandal INSIDE THE UofL men's basketball dormitory that is going to lead to them loosing their 2013 national title & 2012 Final 4 appearance. This should have been enough to have his banner removed. His coaching staff provided money for strippers, strip parties and to engage in sexual acts with recruits, players and even their dad's.

- Being referenced in a Federal indictment as [Coach-2] and the head coach of [University-6]. It was serious enough that the university president and chairman of the board of trustees put him and the AD on administrative leave and all but fired from their positions.


THESE ARE SERIOUS SCANDALS!!!!!!!
TWO SEX SCANDALS & BEING REFERENCED IN A FEDERAL INDICTMENT are not even close to the situations that Cal has been cleared on. Not because UK is my team and I hate loserville.... but these proven incidents are outrageous.

Leave Pitinos jersey alone. If Barnhead had been AD in those days we would still be irrelevant in basketball. Be happy he came and dug us out of the mess that we were in.

Pulp Fiction Wrote:UMass brought Cal back twenty years after their Final 4 season in 96'. They chose to bring him back after this long. If they really though he was that big of a crook or as dirty as everybody thinks he is... there is no way they would hang a banner for him in their arena. The Marcus Camby investigation proved that Cal knew nothing about what had took place.

[Image: attachment.php?attachmentid=3602&d=1506922237]

[Image: attachment.php?attachmentid=3603&d=1506922829]



[Coach-2]'s banner was hung in Rupp Arena before all of his scandals. Times change, people change. We
Knowing what we know now and based on what has been proven.... there is NO WAY anybody can tell me Pitino's banner would be hung up twenty years after the '96 season like Calipari's is.

UK will bvring Pitino back as well in about 20 years if he's still alive...

Pulp Fiction Wrote:UMass brought Cal back twenty years after their Final 4 season in 96'. They chose to bring him back after this long. If they really though he was that big of a crook or as dirty as everybody thinks he is... there is no way they would hang a banner for him in their arena. The Marcus Camby investigation proved that Cal knew nothing about what had took place.

[Image: attachment.php?attachmentid=3602&d=1506922237]

[Image: attachment.php?attachmentid=3603&d=1506922829]



[Coach-2]'s banner was hung in Rupp Arena before all of his scandals. Times change, people change. We
Knowing what we know now and based on what has been proven.... there is NO WAY anybody can tell me Pitino's banner would be hung up twenty years after the '96 season like Calipari's is.

Ok, let's say Cal was a saint at UMASS and suddenly turned unethical at Memphis, and then became a saint at UK again. The Memphis scandle should still be enough to keep anything Cal related from hanging in Rupp IF you are going to justify taking down Pitino's jersey.

Westside Wrote:Ok, let's say Cal was a saint at UMASS and suddenly turned unethical at Memphis, and then became a saint at UK again. The Memphis scandle should still be enough to keep anything Cal related from hanging in Rupp IF you are going to justify taking down Pitino's jersey.

Like I said earlier in this thread.... Cal was cleared by the NCAA on the UMass & the Memphis situations. Cal is not the villain here. Either UMass is full of complete idiots for brining Cal back & hanging a banner for him or they know he was not responsible for them having to vacate their best season in school history.


There is no way UK would bring Cal here if they thought for a second if they he was in hot water from either place.

The Boogeyman & Chuck Norris check under their bed's and in their closet for Sandy Bell, she is a beast..... if she thought for one second Cal was 'dirty' or 'hot', she would be on it faster than you can blink.

Lets do a comparison.....


John Calipari
- Cleared by the NCAA on the Marcus Camby situation in 1996 at UMass. He was proven to not have been involved with this and suffered no penalty.
- Cleared by the NCAA on the Derrick Rose situation in 2008 at Memphis. He was proven to not have been involved with this and suffered no penalty.


Rick Pitino
- Had an Affair/Abortion/Extortion scandal that led to Karen Sypher serving time in Federal prison. He was not arrested or faced any NCAA penalties, but UofL kept him as coach. He would have been released at any other respectable university in the country.
- The UofL administration ADMITTED that stripper parties & sexual acts involving the strippers took place IN THEIR BASKETBALL DORMITORY for recruits, the recruits dad's & players. This is the reason UofL is going to loose their 2012 Final 4 appearance & their 2013 National Championship. The money for said stripper parties/sexual acts was provided by a coach on the UofL staff. The source of the money is yet to be 100% determined, but the shoe scandal may provide more information as to its source.
- UofL's administration admitted last week they are named as [University-6] in the Federal indictment handed down on the Adidas athletic apparel scandal. Credible news agencies and law enforcement have confirmed that Rick Pitino is [Coach-2] in the indictment. The Feds have audio/video evidence of a UofL asst. coach as well as Rick Pitino talking about paying a players family for him to come to UofL just weeks after they were placed on probation by the NCAA and their appeal is still pending on StripperGate. Said player has been removed from the basketball team and from UofL as a student.

RICK HAS BEEN PROVED TO BE DIRTY!!!!!!

UofL fans HAD the mentality that even though UK has more championships and has a better history, that they HAD the moral 'high ground'. The 1951 & 1989 scandals gave UofL fans ammo to use against UK fans whenever something would come up... and let's be honest, those were two pretty bad incidents. UK's basketball program has served their sentence, we took our medicine and moved on. Now, some UofL fans can't accept what all has come down on them the last 8+ years. They know, but won't admit, UK is a better program and their mentality of a moral 'high ground' over UK is gone.

Pulp Fiction Wrote:Like I said earlier in this thread.... Cal was cleared by the NCAA on the UMass & the Memphis situations. Cal is not the villain here. Either UMass is full of complete idiots for brining Cal back & hanging a banner for him or they know he was not responsible for them having to vacate their best season in school history.


There is no way UK would bring Cal here if they thought for a second if they he was in hot water from either place.

The Boogeyman & Chuck Norris check under their bed's and in their closet for Sandy Bell, she is a beast..... if she thought for one second Cal was 'dirty' or 'hot', she would be on it faster than you can blink.

I find it hard to believe Cal has INCREDIBLY bad luck, and both of Coach Cal's last two college coaching gigs resulted in both schools having to vacate victories. I mean no he was was implicated, but OJ wasn't found guilty of murder either. That doesn't always mean anything. Regardless, let's just throw that out the window. Based solely on his accomplishments at UK, I think they should leave Ptinio's jersey up.

Westside Wrote:I find it hard to believe Cal has INCREDIBLY bad luck, and both of Coach Cal's last two college coaching gigs resulted in both schools having to vacate victories. I mean no he was was implicated, but OJ wasn't found guilty of murder either. That doesn't always mean anything. Regardless, let's just throw that out the window. Based solely on his accomplishments at UK, I think they should leave Ptinio's jersey up.

Before StripperGate broke, I 100% agree with your bolded statement. The Sypher deal could be overlooked, everybody makes mistakes.


Now, he will always be thought of and remember by "15 seconds", "down my leg", StripperGate & loosing their '12 Final 4 and '13 Nat'l title... and being know as [Coach-2] in a Federal indictment. Not too mention, the crapstorm that is brewing over at UofL with his firing and lawsuit to follow.
What he has done as the coach of UK and UofL is now an afterthought.

Pulp Fiction Wrote:Before StripperGate broke, I 100% agree with your bolded statement. The Sypher deal could be overlooked, everybody makes mistakes.


Now, he will always be thought of and remember by "15 seconds", "down my leg", StripperGate & loosing their '12 Final 4 and '13 Nat'l title... and being know aCoach-2 in a Federal indictment. Not too mention, the crapstorm that is brewing over at UofL with his firing and lawsuit to follow.
What he has done as the coach of UK and UofL is now an afterthought.

Hey, that can happen to anybody. Besides, I thought he said 30 seconds.

Westside Wrote:I find it hard to believe Cal has INCREDIBLY bad luck, and both of Coach Cal's last two college coaching gigs resulted in both schools having to vacate victories. I mean no he was was implicated, but OJ wasn't found guilty of murder either. That doesn't always mean anything. Regardless, let's just throw that out the window. Based solely on his accomplishments at UK, I think they should leave Ptinio's jersey up.

do you people really think all these top players come to UK, because of coach cal. if that was the case, way didn't all these player go to the other places he coach at. UK got deeper pockets then these other 2 schools.

some of yall look and see I am a Tennessee fan. but I am a women basketball fan, I can care less about man basketball.

cj2561 Wrote:do you people really think all these top players come to UK, because of coach cal. if that was the case, way didn't all these player go to the other places he coach at. UK got deeper pockets then these other 2 schools.

some of yall look and see I am a Tennessee fan. but I am a women basketball fan, I can care less about man basketball.

Man basketball. Do you mean Men's Basketball?

Like I said in an earlier post, the national media HATE Calipari. If there was something there, they would have found it by now. Look at the marquee players than didn't come to UK. Somebody that didn't make the NBA would have already done an exclusive interview or signed a book deal about UK or Coach Cal paying players.

The people that cleared Cal, are the same people who just cleared North Carolina. Give it a break, and leave Pitino along.

The Ricky P banner at Rupp should stay up.

Pitino and Farmer's should come down.

Why would you take Pitino's and Farmers jerseys down??? What did they have to do with the Civil War?