With the NCAA’s response to be announced by Louisville basketball on Monday, a life-long fan begs to just be able to move on.
To Whom It May Concern,
Hello, I write to you in regards to the expected announcement from the Louisville basketball program on Monday, December 7th 2020.
For the last five years your governing body’s inability to make a rational and fact-based decision has cost my beloved program trouble at every turn. I understand that rules were broken that are in place to keep teams from gaining a competitive advantage. Being punished to fullest extent of the law for the crimes committed makes sense, but keeping a program in limbo for years to come doesn’t.
Here’s the problem. A punishment was handed down that was far too stiff and made no sense to begin with.
While other programs committed “crimes” with equal amounts of shock value or went against your most foundational rules, you turned your back because it impacted your bottom line. Why hand down a multi-year tournament ban to a blue blood program like North Carolina knowing it would impact your brand, bank accounts, and potentially raise any questions about leaving your grips?
Your decision to take down a banner that you know had nothing to do with the recruiting violations committed by then assistant coach Andre McGee, was easily the weakest and most cowardly move you’ve made in my lifetime. Think about it. The program self-imposed under your direction. They worked with you hand-in-hand along every step to ensure that there was transparency and everything could be out in the open. They trusted that you would see their efforts to make good on a wrong. They trusted that you would do right by student-athletes, like Trey Lewis and Damion Lee, who had nothing to do with the acts committed. Instead of seeing the effort as a positive, you acted in a repugnant manner. You gave Louisville the hammer taking away a National Championship banner that deserved to be in the rafters, reducing scholarships and hours on the road, amongst other penalties that simply weren’t deserved.
We thought we’d be done with you then, but even with NO ONE asking, you became the in-law whose presence never went away.
You act as if you’re a company who truly does the right thing. We all know that’s not true. In reality, we all see a organization that puffs its chest in order to protect the “collegiate model” and “student-athlete” with a strong PR arm, while continuing to screw athletes over with legitimate waivers and punishing schools inconsistently behind the scenes. In fact, that makes you a BULLY.
You’ve taught me what it means to expect the worse. To always believe that no matter how many things are done by the book, you’ll never make the right decision.
Even as a Federal Judge ruled that three “rogue” Adidas employees transpired to commit bribery against college basketball assistants to influence players to sign with certain programs in exchange for money and other benefits, you pursued one program; Louisville.
Upwards of 15-20 school were mentioned in the investigation done by the FBI into Adidas, and even with a slew of evidence against multiple other programs, Louisville basketball was all you cared about.
You literally had coaches on tape making “huge ass offers” and others sent to prison, yet you didn’t pursue those schools. There were programs who threw money into the air as dancers winded down stripper poles with a head coach wearing a chain clearly aimed at disproving your creditability. Still nothing. Instead, for upwards of three years you narrowed your sights on Louisville in attempt to bury the program you thought you killed off years earlier.
The wiretap of Jordan Fair saying “we have to be careful, we’re on probation,” the handing over of cash to a recruits parents to pay their rent at the Galt House weren’t great optics – I’ll be the first to say that. But considering what all has transpired in college basketball since that investigation and court ruling, it’s clear you saw Louisville basketball as “easy money” to keep your image and public perception “squeaky clean.”
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By 2018 Louisville hired a new president, new athletic director, a new head coach, and had a roster made up of players who had nothing to do with the allegations being made. But why would you care? For almost four years now thousands of fans like me have had to worry about what you’d do next because literally, not even you knew what that would be.
Do you know what it’s like to worry about if this will be the year the NCAA takes away your chance to compete for a National Title? Do you know what it’s like to come to the realization that with just a single press release, decades of winning and program building could come crashing down?
That’s the feeling that Louisville fans, coaches, administration, and most importantly, players have had to deal with for the last three years as you’ve decided how to treat a “repeat offender.”
The level one allegation and three level two allegations sent to Louisville in September were slaps across the face, especially considering they came in the middle of a freaking global pandemic. Much to my delight, instead of bowing at your feet and accepting what you said as the gospel, Louisville’s administrators told you they were going to fight back.
President Neeli Bendapudi said:
“We accept responsibility for violations that we are in agreement with that are based on undisputed facts. But, we will not hesitate, I repeat we will not hesitate, to push back against those allegations that we simply don’t believe are supported by facts, or by NCAA law, or by practice.”
While new athletics director Vince Tyra defended his head coach and players:
“They had absolutely nothing to do with the actions of former staff members more than three years ago, and we are doing all that we can to make sure they do not have to pay a price for those actions. Coach Mack has lead our program back to its place among the college basketball elite. He has done so with integrity and exemplary conduct.”
The time has come for your response back to Louisville basketball to be made public and I have 0% trust that you will do the right thing. In fact, I believe that regardless of what we learn the response is on Monday, we’ll eventually hear the news that we’ve all dreaded would come; another tournament ban.
If that’s the case, I’m fully prepared to deal with it so we can finally move on as a University, a basketball program, and as fans.
Sincerely,
Jacob Lane (Lifelong Louisville fan)
