Listen, I could care less about what any of you all say about me or my character. I have a PhD in Economics and have been out of coaching for two years after 6 as a Division 2 assistant while also being a full-time college professor. I have absolutely nothing to do with Louisville, Florida, FIU, etc.
I initially contacted the University of Minnesota directly to get this corrected, and they still have yet to respond in any way to me directly. So then others became involved.
Press releases came out 2 days ago saying Pitino was an Administrative Assistant for 2004-2005 at the College of Charleston. I WAS. Pitino came on board in August 2005 (best case), and by best estimates he stayed a couple months. That is the 2005-2006 season, but he left shortly thereafter to go with Ron Everhart to Northeastern and apparently wanted to claim his brief stay at Charleston. However, on his resume that has been acquired, he has been saying and claiming that he was the Administrative Assistant there that 04-05 season, including the 18-10 record. It started at Duquesne and has continued on to now at Minnesota. Whats the difference between that and George O'Leary stretching taking a few master's degree classes and actually having a masters degree?
When those releases came out, I had coaching friends accusing me of being a liar on my resume, since there is no way that the Pitino name would be a liar, and he had Louisville, Florida, FIU, and now Minnesota saying he was right. I may no longer be in coaching, but I still have pride in Pitino doing what amounts to plagiarizing my job and stuff. Yes he did not need it because he could ride his dad's name, but he still did it, and it's been involved in his bios since about how he worked his way up from the ground to get it. That is my motivation and level of agitation about this, and why I am pushing it like this. I will also lose lifelong coaching friends over it, since they are also being contacted now to fact-check everything. I am not bitter about anything. I am upset that Pitino has again done "professional plagiarism", and now people are attempting to call me out on my resume/career because of his lies.
Through the Star Tribune, Minnesota/Pitino have already put out a few things that they have been called out on, and they keep backtracking and blaming someone else. No one has fact checked or called him out on it until now. In my opinion, no one bothered fact-checking his resume and it kept going as the Gospel truth, a la George O'Leary. Now there is someone who is calling and fact-checking everything. This has more than legs and is going to be out more soon.
I have already sent others stacks of links and photocopies of documents to 100% prove everything I have said. I'm not a liar, I'm not irrational, and I'm not some loon. I'm a hard-working former coach who is beyond upset that someone has been claiming my job and my work his entire career, i.e. professional plagiarism. I have nothing to gain from this. If anything, I will lose more because I will undoubtedly lose a couple of my coaching friends who will see me as a snitch. However, there are more important things than that, such as pride, honesty, and someone not stealing your work and accomplishments.
