By Andy Furman

  Rick Pitino, basketball coach at the University of Louisville had consensual sex with Karen Cunagin Sypher at a Louisville restaurant. That’s what he told police. Seems he was at a Louisville restaurant in 2003 and was drinking, and… He also told police that he later gave Sypher $3,000 to have an abortion, this, too, according to Louisville Metro Police reports, which were obtained by the Courier-Journal. Sounds like a made-for-TV series to me. Where’s Bob Huggins when you need him? It was Huggins who got the heave-ho from the University of Cincinnati, as basketball coach some four years ago for a DUI charge. Huggins broke the law. Pitino broke a trust. Months ago, when this Pitino rumor started making the rounds, the word Pitino’s camp used was – he made contact with Sypher. Suddenly, it’s now consensual sex. To his credit, Pitino denied Sypher’s allegations that he raped her at a Louisville restaurant – after hours – and again a few weeks later at a different location. This, too, according to police records. Seems Sypher has been indicted be a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring to extort money from Pitino in exchange for her silence about the alleged crimes, and lying to the FBI. She has pleaded not guilty. But back to Pitino. Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich said in a statement: “Coach Pitino has been truthful with us about this matter all along and we stand by him and his family during this process.” The Louisville President James Ramsey added in a statement: “Several months ago Coach Pitino informed me about the alleged extortion attempt. I’ve now been informed that there may be other details which, if true, I find surprising. My thoughts are with Coach Pitino and his family.” It’s great to have that kind of support – but it means nothing. Why not ask the faculty on campus? The students? Certainly Pitino didn’t break any laws – but broke the morality clause. He broke a trust to his wife and family of five. How will his ballplayers view him? How can he enter a prospective student-athlete’s home and speak to parents without some strange looks? As a parent would you want your child under his watch? Just asking – just asking. Huggins lost his job. But he broke the law. Pitino will have hell to pay – especially when his Cardinals roll into Lexington to play Kentucky, January 2^nd. Maybe the razzing on the road will be enough punishment. We all need to be accountable for our action. Maybe a suspension is what’s really needed. But the media lapdogs who pray at the Pitino shrine would never hear of it.