It's a cycle that repeats itself. It happened when Syracuse did the same thing. Not surprisingly, the media never takes itself to task for missing the story or deifying these coaches and programs.
The problem starts closest to home. Those that cover these programs need access to do their jobs and getting access becomes a problem if you or your news organization starts sniffing around a potentially damaging story. To me, this excuse rings hollow. It's not your job to be a PR person but to report and investigate.
Following the 2012 Rose Bowl, Wisconsin's senior associate athletic director John Chadima resigned following accusations of sexual harassment during the trip to Pasadena. This would seem a big story but after March of that year, the story disappears. Neither the Wisconsin State Journal nor Milwaukee Journal Sentinel have anything on it. These events happen at universities because there is no accountability unless a disgruntled person airs their grievances.
Nationally, the media are the ones that cultivate a network of contacts that allow them to break stories. Buzz Williams used the national media to get his name thrown out for job openings on a regular basis. When he finally decided he was leaving Marquette on the first thing smoking, he leaked his TeamBuzz functions to the national media to soften the blow. Glowing stories of his charity ran at CBS Sports and then the day of the Selection Sunday. It's how the game is played.
That leads us back to Louisville. This isn't an apology for Louisville. They deserve what they got and are going to get. We can rip the NCAA all we want but this isn't an NCAA problem. This is a Louisville problem and a culture problem. We'd have to be pretty stupid to think this type of thing doesn't happen elsewhere but how would we know when blind eyes are turned to it all the time?
As a Michigan fan, I often see accusations of bag men when it comes to the SEC and their recruiting prowess. Is it true? Probably but I may as well shake my fist at the cloud. Until an aggrieved bagman comes forward or a player or group of players expose something, it's an excercise in futility.
The national media is now universal in their disgust with Louisville and the poor plight of Damion Lee and Trey Lewis. Lee and Lewis both wanted a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament before their careers ended. Looking at the landscape, Louisville gave them a great opportunity, but as we know, trouble was lurking. It's a tough spot they're caught in along with their teammates. Perhaps we should explore if any of them were persuaded to attend Louisville with questionable tactics before we have a pity party. Perhaps that's unfair to them, but given what we know now, it seems pretty naive to not at actually ask and explore that question.
The legend of Louisville and Rick Pitino is partly built upon the worship and glowing stories by the same media now upset at the NCAA and Louisville. The people assigned to cover this sport are part of the failure. That hero worship is even greater at the local level. Think about the legend built around guys in Wisconsin at both Madison and Marquette. Why don't we know more about Bo Ryan's retirement? Why did Buzz Williams get a pass after the Chicago Tribune reported sexual assaults involving possibly a player on his team?
George Orwell wrote, "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." Sadly, when it comes to the media and college athletics, public relations is exactly how it's covered. Outrage after the fact from the media is window dressing for the failure to do their jobs.
This March, the coach whose team wins the national championship will be showered with glory and their program held up. Maybe deservedly so, but if not, we'll probably never know.
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