Father, forgive Rick Pitino, for he has sinned
August 14, 2009 at 5:30 am by Peter Schweitzer
By Peter Schweitzer
PoHo contributor
We can now throw college coach Rick Pitino on the scrap heap of public figures undone by a sex scandal.
Pitino, a self-described devout Roman Catholic, has become embroiled in a sex scandal involving payola for an abortion. Of course, that’s not how Pitino’s lawyer describes it but that what’s going to stick. Six years ago, he had a tryst with Karen Sypher in a restaurant of all places. When confronted with the news that she was going to bear the fruit of his loins, Pitino offered her money “for health insurance.”
She says Pitino offered to pay for an abortion. Sypher describes the relationship as non-consensual and is facing extortion charges. Now, Pitino is fighting to save his job in Louisville.
None of this would be newsworthy if the coach hadn’t worn religion on his sleeve for so long. He portrayed himself as the family man, the devout Catholic. Now, he’s caught confronting the dirty truth about relations with a woman to whom he wasn’t married. Time to go to confession? Perhaps. Better yet, shut the hell up about your religious convictions and coach basketball! That’s what you’re paid to do. If the good people of Louisville wanted a sermon they can go to their local church. You created this mess by publicly professing your beliefs and your values. Now you have to live with the stark contradiction of reality.
