Coach Calipari Deserves Far Better!

Lwcat
WT Administrator

Recent articles and comments from many in the sports media regarding John Calipari have been exceedingly unfair…..they are too often filled with half truths and lies! Calipari was head coach at U Mass for 8 years and Memphis for 9 years….that’s 17 years…..and never once has coach Calipari been cited by the NCAA for an infraction. Yet, after reading articles and comments from the sports media…..you would think that Calipari has been in the NCAA doghouse throughout his career.

The Marcus Camby situation at U Mass is often blamed on coach Calipari, but the facts are otherwise…..Marcus Camby accepted money and other gifts from 2 sports agents without the knowledge of Coach Calipari or U Mass. This situation could have happened under any coach in America. Unfortunately, NCAA rules penalized U Mass when in fairness the only penalty should have been leveled at Camby…a severe penalty… because Camby committed the infraction…..not U Mass, not the U Mass players and not the U Mass coaching staff. NCAA rules are terribly outdated and completely unfair when the penalties are leveled at the victim….U Mass in this case….and not the individual, Camby who committed the infraction.

Now we have the recent Derrick Rose situation at Memphis and thus far the NCAA has leveled the charge against Derrick Rose concerning an SAT test and possibly high school grades being altered. Again, who is the charge against….it’s against Rose. Yet, in reading various sports articles and comments….too often, they blame Calipari or suggest that this is evidence that Calipari runs a dirty program. Say what! The NCAA has told UK and Calipari that he is not a target in this investigation because there is zero evidence that Coach Calipari, his coaching staff or anyone at Memphis had knowledge of Rose’s actions.

We all understand that the coach is the so called “Captain” of the program….and certainly all coaches are responsible for their actions, the actions of those on their staff and providing the necessary and reasonable safeguards protecting the integrity of their program. However, coaches cannot follow recruits or players 24 hours a day…. nor should they be held responsible when a player, like Camby, in secret….strikes a deal with sports agents. While the NCAA at least understood that Calipari was not responsible for the Camby situation or the Derrick Rose situation…..unfortunately, those “holier then thou” so called sports writers and sports media…..have chosen to suggest and/or claim that coach Calipari runs a dirty program. These sports people conveniently ignore the facts and in an almost herd mentality…. attack the reputation of a coach who has not once in his entire career been accused of breaking an NCAA rule!

Coach Calipari, like all of us, is not perfect…..but, he has been shown to be caring coach, generous human being and a wonderful family man…..and IMO….a man of integrity!

It is a travesty that coach Calipari is receiving this kind of shabby treatment! I would hope that all UK fans stand foursquare behind coach Calipari…..he deserves our full support….and, importantly, coach Calipari deserves far better from the sports media!