Bilas going all out defending Pitino on Mike and Mike
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The precedent has already been set. It doesn't matter if he knew 100% or 0%.
This! Jay has become blinded by trying to kill the NCAA and poke holes in their rulings that he forgets what really transpired at UNC, UL, Syracuse and Penn State. He's made his message clear, "I don't like the NCAA so any penalties they levy against schools I'm going to disagree with because of their inconsistency."
There is a bigger picture that is being forgotten.
Up until about 5 years ago I thought he was the best in the game. A lot of people did. But once he realized that, and he knew people were listening to him, he could be more liberal with expressing his opinions rather than being unbiased.
Now he's at the point where he uses every minute he's on air as a platform for his agendas. It's sad really. Espn (and frankly the world in general) needs more 2010 Jay Bilas's and fewer 2017 Jay Bilas's.
100% true...
It began with increased responsibility at ESPN, that can't just be coincidence.
Actually, there is evidence others knew. It might not be legally "proof", but there is evidence. The report contained testimony from a player that said one of the assistant coaches told the team at practice that they were playing poorly because they had strippers all night.
Obviously Pitino knew and anyone who claims otherwise loses absolutely all credibility. Kids were posting photos of themselves with whores on Instagram, for f**k's sake. Now, is there any proof he knew? No. There isn't. So you cannot really punish him for it more severely. But to defend him over it is a complete joke.
Regarding the first point, Bilas claims to be "an evidence guy". "I go by the evidence," he said. Fair enough. But there is evidence - he's just being lazy. Here is a quote I just read from a local account:
"And while there is no evidence coach Rick Pitino knew what was going on, one player told the NCAA that an assistant coach told the team "that it had practiced poorly 'because ya'll had strippers in there all night.'"
The player felt this assistant knew about what was going on because the coach was "close" with McGee.
And a player told the NCAA it was "common knowledge" that the stripping and prostitution were occurring."
Both Jay and this writer miss the obvious (note the writer says "and while there is no evidence..."). There is evidence. A material witness has given testimony which indicates Pitino and everyone else knew - it was common knowledge. That is the very definition of evidence.
He really has acquired some unattractive habits lately. As Aike says, he doesn't have conversations anymore, he just tells everyone else what is right. Second, he has an opinion about the NCAA - he is always opposed to the NCAA, and is always on the side of whatever coach is being accused of something. Which is OK - but the thing is, he doesn't take the time to educate himself. He's so sure that the NCAA must be wrong and Pitino right that he doesn't bother reading the record. So when he starts preaching about" "the evidence" he looks uninformed and just stupid.
Just to set the record straight, in both cases Cal himself WAS NOT charged with any violations. Big difference.
I mean, the more Pitino keeps making an ass of himself in public with these ridiculous reasons why he could have never known about this, the more I think he knew something was going on. Maybe didn't know it was hookers, but he knew something was happening.
No innocent man makes up some of the most batshit excuses like he has if they're not guilty.
UNC is guilty of some of the worst academic fraud in history, thing is, their situation not being a so called NCAA issue has been used in the past in regards to individual student athletes. Where I'm going with this is if I recall correctly, it was something similar mentioned in regards to Bledsoe's grades that got the NCAA away from us at the time. I'm not sticking up for UNCheat at all, I hope they get hammered but I do believe the case they're laying out for them has been used before.
I'd say more than one. McGee was making almost nothing. You'd have to believe he was willing to spend his entire annual salary on strippers to believe he was working alone on this. Someone had to be giving him a budget to work with. That implies it had to at least go as high as Pitino.
And the strict liability term was invented to send the message that ignorance is no excuse when rules are broken.
These coaches have everything they need to cheat. Money, opportunity, connections, ways to hide their universities missteps etc. Cheaters have the edge in these matters, not the ncaa. If the Ncaa allowed room for ignorance, everyone who cheats would fall back on "I didnt know". Even in criminal cases, what you claim you knew doesnt matter, you were there and someone died.
Its almost child like using t excuse, and everyone from UCLA to UNC to UL, the coaches claim ignorance.
Well, thats failure to monitor which is kind of worse. They just dont get it
And yet you had Pitino yesterday crying that it was only one person. Maybe McGee was the only one directly involved ( extremely doubtful when you consider where the $$ came from, and that it went on after McGee had left.)
But it's obvious from this report that other staff members knew something was going on. In addition, Katina mentions a "Coach Mike".
Diehard U of L former friend of mine won't say a word other than saying Bilas knows what's up. LOL, what a DISGRACE of a fanbase.
For a coach that runs one of the most disciplined basketball programs from a player responsibility standpoint, I find it laughable that Pitino is trying to convince the NCAA and the public that he knew nothing about McGee's activities.
I am convinced that Pitino has paid McGee a HUGE sum of money to take the fall for this and uphold him in the ignorance angle.
Jay Bilas joining in on this attempt to plead ignorance by Pitino, makes him look just as foolish!!
Jay Bilas has become nothing more than an ACC propaganda minister for his boss at ESPN. His opinion on ANYTHING involving ACC Basketball should be IGNORED!
I am convinced that Pitino has paid McGee a HUGE sum of money to take the fall for this and uphold him in the ignorance angle.
Jay Bilas joining in on this attempt to plead ignorance by Pitino, makes him look just as foolish!!
Jay Bilas has become nothing more than an ACC propaganda minister for his boss at ESPN. His opinion on ANYTHING involving ACC Basketball should be IGNORED!
Not to mention ALL THE PLAYERS. That seems to slip Pitino's mind. All players and assistants knew.
Pitino has called himself a leader and has said leaders lead. Well, the group he was leading all lied to him. They learned from the master.
When it comes to NCAA infractions or by-laws issues, Jay Bilas is not someone people should really take seriously.
Regarding his assertion that Pitino didn't know, that's really irrelevant. He wasn't accused of knowing. He was accused of failure to monitor.
What Bilas conveniently fails to mention is what is the burden of proof specific to failure to monitor charges. When failure to monitor is alleged, the burden of proof is on the coach and not the COI. The report is clear that Pitino was guilty of this because Pitino failed to rebut the charge by documenting the steps he had taken to demonstrate an atmosphere of compliance. This is a smoke screen on Bilas' part.
Secondly, Bilas' analysis of the 5 game suspension is also flawed. He mentioned that the IAC revised Boeheim's 9 conference game suspension imposed by the COI so that the suspension started immediately. He highlights this as an example of inconsistency.
What he ignores are the other instances where suspensions beginning in conference play were upheld by the IAC. For example, Randy Bennett was suspended 5 conference games for failure to monitor related to recruiting inducements provided by a former member of his staff. This suspension was upheld.
I believe Bilas to be intelligent, which means I don't think that these are simply oversights on his part. This is spin. And not only is it spin, it is dishonest spin.
Regarding his assertion that Pitino didn't know, that's really irrelevant. He wasn't accused of knowing. He was accused of failure to monitor.
What Bilas conveniently fails to mention is what is the burden of proof specific to failure to monitor charges. When failure to monitor is alleged, the burden of proof is on the coach and not the COI. The report is clear that Pitino was guilty of this because Pitino failed to rebut the charge by documenting the steps he had taken to demonstrate an atmosphere of compliance. This is a smoke screen on Bilas' part.
Secondly, Bilas' analysis of the 5 game suspension is also flawed. He mentioned that the IAC revised Boeheim's 9 conference game suspension imposed by the COI so that the suspension started immediately. He highlights this as an example of inconsistency.
What he ignores are the other instances where suspensions beginning in conference play were upheld by the IAC. For example, Randy Bennett was suspended 5 conference games for failure to monitor related to recruiting inducements provided by a former member of his staff. This suspension was upheld.
I believe Bilas to be intelligent, which means I don't think that these are simply oversights on his part. This is spin. And not only is it spin, it is dishonest spin.
Bilas suffers from the same affliction other supposedly smart attorney types do and that is they try so hard to be smarter and legalistic they lose the ability to have common sense.
I just want someone to get to Jay and ask him to forget the legal issues for one second and just plain and simply and honestly answer these questions publicly.
1. Do you think the classes were formed, intended, or ultimately used for the primary purpose of keeping athletes eligible? Yes or No
2. And did they gain an advantage by doing so? Yes or No
If the answer is no then we know that Jay is not just being legalistic but is truly trying to ride an agenda. It all starts with whether or not UNC did something INTENTIONALLY (not by happenstance) to help them gain an advantage athletically.
UNC didn't have this easy class that the athletes just found out about and started taking to get an easy A. There is clear evidence it was set up and used for the purpose of artificially altering their grade standing. The NCAA can clearly use academic fraud as part of their governance just like they did with Eric Manual's SAT. Their primary if not only job is to protect the equal playing field by making sure one institution doesn't gain an unfair advantage over another by intentional misconduct period.
For Jay and other to try to make the simple minded case that it's an academic issue and not athletic and ignore that one is related to the other is ignorant or worse, purposefully legalistic to skirt the real issue.
It makes not difference if other students were involved (once again just answer the question above). When we build the Joe B Hall lodge they said that was an unfair advantage if players only lived there so they made us mix in other students. All UNC did was add in other students for cover. Again for Jay to ignore that means he's either not as smart as he comes on or he's doing it on purpose.
I just want someone to get to Jay and ask him to forget the legal issues for one second and just plain and simply and honestly answer these questions publicly.
1. Do you think the classes were formed, intended, or ultimately used for the primary purpose of keeping athletes eligible? Yes or No
2. And did they gain an advantage by doing so? Yes or No
If the answer is no then we know that Jay is not just being legalistic but is truly trying to ride an agenda. It all starts with whether or not UNC did something INTENTIONALLY (not by happenstance) to help them gain an advantage athletically.
UNC didn't have this easy class that the athletes just found out about and started taking to get an easy A. There is clear evidence it was set up and used for the purpose of artificially altering their grade standing. The NCAA can clearly use academic fraud as part of their governance just like they did with Eric Manual's SAT. Their primary if not only job is to protect the equal playing field by making sure one institution doesn't gain an unfair advantage over another by intentional misconduct period.
For Jay and other to try to make the simple minded case that it's an academic issue and not athletic and ignore that one is related to the other is ignorant or worse, purposefully legalistic to skirt the real issue.
It makes not difference if other students were involved (once again just answer the question above). When we build the Joe B Hall lodge they said that was an unfair advantage if players only lived there so they made us mix in other students. All UNC did was add in other students for cover. Again for Jay to ignore that means he's either not as smart as he comes on or he's doing it on purpose.
I'm not sure where Bilas went to law school, but witness statements are considered evidence. He must have missed the day they taught evidence at law school.
Basketball player wants to immediately transfer but is denied
Bilas: NCAA must do what is right for the athlete and allow the transfer.
UNC fails to educate its athletes for over 20 years.
Bilas: UNC doesn't have to do what is right for its athletes and shouldn't be punished for guiding athletes into phony classes.
Right Jay...how is that hypocrisy sandwich? You and the UNC PR team go over your talking points before hitting the radio show circuit?
Bilas: NCAA must do what is right for the athlete and allow the transfer.
UNC fails to educate its athletes for over 20 years.
Bilas: UNC doesn't have to do what is right for its athletes and shouldn't be punished for guiding athletes into phony classes.
Right Jay...how is that hypocrisy sandwich? You and the UNC PR team go over your talking points before hitting the radio show circuit?
Yeah I agree, I don't know why UL fans keep shaking their heads and saying that Pitino didn't know about the party's. Well, he is the one that is supposed to prevent that kind of stuff from happening and also, for the past 20 years UL fans were the first ones to tell us that Calipari either did know, or should have known about Camby and definitely knew about Rose. Karma is a bitch and they are all being force fed a dump truck load of it.
Also, to your earlier point about Bilas, I also agree, he has turned into a complete ass. Even Jay Will and Seth Greenberg appear to be tired of his constant "I'm right and everyone else is wrong" crap. It came to a head during the NCAA tournament last season a couple times.
I hate it, because I really thought Bilas was the voice of reason and the guy that was the best fit to head the NCAA infractions committee, that thought is long gone now. But, it's also going to be easy to hate him because, well, he's a duke guy.
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While I agree with this, I'm totally fine with UL fans saying "but, but, there's no way Pitino knew about this, how could he have known… ". Because it makes them hypocrites.
There was definitely a money man, Katina Powell talked at great lengths about that on Matt Jones' show and, apparently, in her book too. But I don't think that person's identity has ever been revealed.
But what RP doesn't understand is that "not knowing" is just as bad, if not worse, than if he knew. He just needs to shut his mouth, he's making himself look so much worse.
If I was a parent of one of those recruits I would be livid at Pitino for not knowing. You said you would make sure my kid would be safe and on his first visit to the school you have him in a disgusting and dangerous situation? Uhhh yeah, I would have a serious problem with that and RP would be lucky if all he had to deal with was me, God help the guy if he had to deal with the wife.
Well...there is $15,000,000 in missing uofl Foundation money...
I want to launch into uncontrollable projectile vomiting everytime I see this rationale in print. As a society, are we now completely devoid of all logic and reasoning? Let's make the most charitable assumption possible, that somehow, someway, Rick is so detached from the reality of his own program that he didn't overhear a word of this slimey affair over a four year period of time from either players or assistants. He's still the captain of the Titanic. IT'S HIS JOB TO KNOW. Had McGee launched a few of these parties, and had Pitino waded in and pulled the plug on it all, then we're having a different discussion. But his laughable claim to not knowing over a period involving several seasons implicates his him in just as serious and unflattering light, as if he knew and did nothing-particularly in light of the fact he had his own not insubstantial sex scandal in the recent past. The fact that someone that's supposedly educated and articulate like Bilas cant or won't acknowledge this argument is a further nail in coffin of his own professional reputation.
One correction I'd make to your post is this. According to the by-laws, it is not Pitino's job to know everything. All Pitino is responsible for is simply taking some reasonable steps to check on things to make sure nothing's going on. As long as he does that, there's no issue for Pitino even if a violation occurs.
That's what makes people's defense of Pitino all the more laughable. The COI didn't expect Pitino to know everything. But they did expect him to demonstrate that his staff was trained on the rules and that he was checking in on things every once in a while.
Pitino was unable to demonstrate that he did those basic things and that is why he was punished.
Agree... I bet he believes Cal knew about Camby and Rose though... I used to like him but he's just like the rest of the clowns...
