The apology should have been just as loud as the disrespect, Rick Pitino.
On Wednesday, Rick Pitino told the media that he apologized to the St. John’s men’s basketball team days after endorsing his wild postgame rant following a game against Seton Hall.
Somehow, Rick Pitino thinks we have forgotten what he’s done in the last four days, but we have not. The internet has the receipts. On Sunday, he ripped his team after a less-than-stellar performance against Seton Hall. Pitino described coaching St. Johns as the “most unenjoyable experience” of his lifetime. On Monday, Per ESPN, Pitino told Newsday that he stood by his words, saying, “I was pointing out exactly — in a monotone voice — why we lost… I was not ripping anybody.”
By Wednesday, Pitino was walking back his words by sharing that he apologized to his team after learning that his rant hurt several players.
"My family and my players, outside of breathing air, they're the most important thing in my life. That's why I'm still coaching today. They are the air that I breathe. I love them dearly. I would never want to embarrass them or hurt them."
If Pitino thought he was making his team tougher by ripping them, fine. At least stand by that. Be about the words you chose. But to endorse the words and then walk them back implies it was always about escaping accountability and saving an image.
What Pitino fails to realize is that — right or wrong — how a team performs is a reflection of its leader. So, if a team isn’t up to standard, you address it with them and ask yourself what you can do better as a leader, not deflect responsibility and embarrass them in public.
Good morning, folks! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thank you so much for rocking with us at For the Win today. We greatly appreciate your time.
That’s something Rick Pitino has probably never said to his players. He doesn’t seem to appreciate much of anything they do at St. John’s.
I’m sure by now you’ve seen the rant Pitino went on about his team after their latest loss to Seton Hall. He publicly undressed his entire squad and its problems in front of cameras for the world to hear.
He called this job the “most unenjoyable experience” of his life. Honestly, is he sure about that? Because I can surely think of more than a few Pitino circumstances that seem like they might’ve been a bit more unenjoyable than coaching at St. John’s. I mean, that’s why he’s there in the first place, right?
Look, I get the frustration. St. John’s isn’t very good. The team is 2-8 in its last 10 games. But this isn’t just frustration — it’s bullying. It’s Rick Pitino using his power as a head coach to make his players feel as small as possible. He groaned on and on about how his players are “slow laterally” and “physically weak.” Those aren’t critiques — those are insults.
Plus, I’m sorry, but did I miss the part where somebody was holding him hostage and forcing him to coach this team? Everybody and everything suck so bad! …but he won’t leave.
Of course he won’t. There’s no cushy buyout and a clear path to a bigger job he can leech off of at the end of the road. He may never coach again if he does that because the sad reality is he just might not be good enough anymore. His best days as a head coach might be in the rearview mirror.
Ah, yes. There it is. The personal accountability Rick Pitino is terrified of taking here.
What he didn’t let us know in that rant is that these are all his players. This is the team that he orchestrated. This squad added 12 new players this offseason. This is the team he wanted. If they’re so bad and slow and weak, that’s on him.
As the head coach, it’s your job to get your players to play their best ball. It’s your job to make sure they’re able to sustain the 12-point lead they built. It’s your job to get your house in order after your team loses eight of the last 10 games. That’s why you’re paid what you’re paid.
Taking out your shortcomings on your unpaid “amateur” workforce while you literally make millions to fail is feckless. Period.
Be better, Rick Pitino. If you have it in you.
This is what being an adult looks like
(AP Photo/Matthew Putney)
Rick Pitino could probably learn a thing or two at his big age from Sheryl Swoopes here.
Remember the whole Caitlin Clark thing where Swoopes got some numbers wrong? She called the Iowa star and apologized for it. Meghan Hall has more here.
“It’s been a whirlwind month regarding the alleged beef between Sheryl Swoopes and Caitlin Clark. Fans have been in a frenzy since Swoopes said that she didn’t think Angel Reese or Caitlin Clark would make an immediate impact in the WNBA and implied that Clark’s previous pace to break Kelsey Plum’s NCAA scoring record was seemingly unimpressive. Those comments ignited hoops fans and even led to the team’s social media account getting involved. Then, things quickly escalated to “Don’t Be a Sheryl” and “Be a Sheryl” shirts flooding the internet. It was A LOT.
However, per Chantel Jennings of The Athletic, Swoopes recently revealed during a Baylor-Texas Tech broadcast that she had a conversation with Angel Reese via phone, and she also reached out to Clark to clear the air.”
Swoopes left out the glorious details here but, long story short, she apologized and told her that she respected her game. And I’m sure that means a lot to Clark, considering that Swoopes is a basketball legend.
It’s great to see the air cleared between these two.
The Nationals are not for sale
Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
If you were in the market to purchase a baseball team, it sounds like you should take Washington off of your radar. The Nationals are not for sale anymore. At least, that’s what Mark Lerner is telling the Washington Post.
Add this latest announcement to the list of confounding moves the Nationals have made since winning a World Series in 2019.
— And now the family has completely backed away from the idea of a sale
The Lerners are unpredictable. It’s hard to know what the future of this team holds or when it’ll even be competitive again.
The rebuild is moving along according to plan with Washington completely rebuilding its farm system. Ownership just has to be willing to spend again. Maybe, now that the Lerners are fully committed to the Nationals again, they will.
Don’t hold your breath on that, though.
Quick hits: Behold! MLB’s new awful jerseys … The 102 best NFL free agents … and more
“This is the most unenjoyable experience of my lifetime.”
Rick Pitino isn’t mincing words about the 2023-2024 St. John’s men’s basketball team. He thinks they stink, and Pitino let anyone who would listen know it during a postgame meltdown.
The relationship between the St. John’s men’s basketball team and head coach Rick Pitino may not be the same after a recent postgame presser. St. John’s was up by as much as 19 points during their Sunday matchup against Seton Hall, including a 12-point lead at halftime. But, extremely leaky defense and lackluster energy down the stretch let Seton Hall back in the game. Eventually, it was too much for the Red Storm to handle, and Seton Hall would go on to win 68-62.
It’s not unreasonable to think a head coach would be steaming after a performance like that. Still, during Sunday’s postgame presser, Rick Pitino ripped the entire team with insult after insult and things got awkward in a hurry.
Among the things he fired off, Pitino called the team “unathletic” and said that it was the “most unenjoyable experience” he’s had since he’s been coaching. When asked if he was second-guessing his time at St. John’s, Pitino said, “No, not at all. It’s not St. John’s. It’s my team.” (See the 1:14 mark of the YouTube video below.)
YIKES.
On this morning's edition of "Get Up," during a conversation about St John's facilities, Bart Scott jokingly asked if the program isn't getting residuals from "Coming to America."
More Scott on Rick Pitino: "He looks dead inside. Let's take the gray out, man." pic.twitter.com/AMQYNnPHoK
Legendary college basketball coach Rick Pitino is a believer in New York Giants QB Daniel Jones: Give him protection and he’ll be “terrific.”
With many calling for the New York Giants to move on from quarterback Daniel Jones, one legendary coach is calling for the team to be a little more patient.
Rick Pitino, who has had massive success in both the college and pro basketball realms as a head coach, believes the Giants can still be rewarded if they simply just build around Jones.
Working out n these shows keep asking should the Giants trade @Daniel_Jones10 . Why not talk about things that possibly could happen. Give Danny Dimes some protection n he will be terrific. Patience is a virtue – no more Geno Smith's becoming outstanding elsewhere
Pitino is talking mainly about the Giants’ offensive line, which has been the poster child for their offensive woes over the past decade.
The truth is, the team has been addressing the line with top picks and expensive free agents, but has not experienced the desired results due to several players ‘busting’ out and others’ inability to stay healthy.
In 2023, the Giants’ offensive line surrendered 85 sacks, the second-most in NFL history. Jones was also injured twice and was lost for the season in Week 9 due to a torn ACL.
On this day, Boston made what was widely regarded as one of the worst trades in franchise history.
On this day in 1998 in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise’s impatient coach and President of Basketball Operations Rick Pitino sent veteran point guard Dee Brown and his rookie backcourt teammate Chauncey Billups to the Toronto Raptors. This remains a wildly unpopular trade in many corners.
It sent Brown and Billups as well as power forward Roy Rogers and big man John Thomas to the Raptors in exchange for guard Kenny Anderson, power forward Popeye Jones, and big man Zan Tabak. The deal, often included on lists of the worst the club has made, netted Anderson in exchange.
He hadn’t even been with the Raptors for a week after having been traded to the team for point guard Damon Stoudamire, refusing to report to the Canadian franchise.
Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano talks about NIL.
Greg Schiano believes that college athletes deserve to be paid, but he said that there is “unruliness” when it comes to Name, Image and Likeness. The Rutgers football head coach laid out his thoughts while appearing on PIX 11 with Marc Malusis and Nelson Figueroa Jr.
Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) is the predominant driving force in this new era of college athletics. This, along with the transfer portal, has led to massive changes in college football and across the athletics landscape.
Schiano agreed with Pitino that NIL is powerful and should exist. However, the Rutgers coach said that the implementation of NIL has led to the current state of unrest in college athletics.
Ok – we all want solutions to preserve our great game. Today I’m going to suggest solution one:
For basketball – have the Power 5 & Big East conference commissioners get together and create a salary cap between 1.5 n 2.0 million. All contracts delivered to the league and school…
The original intent of NIL is not being fulfilled in the way things are currently set up.
“Well, it’s certainly a transformational time, right? I mean, players are -you know, I’ve always thought players should have been paid my whole career. I always thought it was not right the way things were done in college athletics,” Schiano said to a question from Malusis.
“We probably could have taken care of this a long time ago and not had the unruliness that we have right now. I think the problem with NIL is just the way that it’s formatted. It’s -in theory, it’s not a bad issue at all. It’s actually what’s right. It’s just the way that it’s being executed.”
Pitino’s tweets on Tuesday also suggested that players sign a multi-year contract, thereby cutting down on the rampant use of the transfer portal which makes things difficult for college coaches to build teams.
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Remember this is only food for thought. All possible solutions.
Solution 2:
Do away with letters of intent, make athletes sign a two year binding contract, no different than professional athletes – which they are. With that, the collective puts together their NIL contract based…
Schiano addressed the portal as well, even drawing a correlation between the portal and coaches leaving a program.
“Now on the transfer portal. You know, I think guys should be able to go if they don’t want to be at their school and not be penalized, I think maybe unlimited is a little different,” Schiano said.
“You know, guys, they said, ‘Well, coaches can leave.’ But the reality is when coaches leave, they pay a pretty hefty…they ao their next employer plays a pretty hefty buyout to get them.
“I think eventually things are going to settle where they need to be but hold on right now because it’s just a transformational time in college athletics is probably there’s ever been.”
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Given the recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board, the landscape of major college athletics is on the precipice of massive change. Tuesday on “SportsNation Nightly’ @Rutgers Head Football Coach Greg Schiano joined @MarcMalusis and @FiggieNY to discuss what lies ahead pic.twitter.com/axIasGwVwS
On this day in Celtics history, former coach and team president Rick Pitino resigned, and Robert Parish got his 13,000th career rebound.
On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics head coach and President of Basketball Operations Rick Pitino resigned from his posts with the storied franchise back in 2001.
Having joined the Celtics organization in 1997 in his second stint in the NBA (he had previously been the head coach of the New York Knicks) after nearly winning a national title with the Kentucky Wildcats at the NCAA level, losing in overtime to Arizona. Things did not go so well with the Celtics however, with his impatience with the roster and resulting trades failing to produce a winning record during his tenure.
This would result in a 102-146 record during his tenure, as well as the famous “Larry Bird is not walking through that door” rant.
He’ll likely get to celebrate a little bit longer as legendary college basketball coach Rick Pitino wants to see him at a St. John’s game on December 16 when they take on Fordham.
Hey @tommydevito007 – we need some Italian luck in the Garden this Saturday!! Courtside seats are yours 💪💪
New St. John’s men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino looked to have found an unusual way to keep taps of his first game’s referees against Stony Brook on Tuesday night.
En route to a 90-74 victory, Big East reporter Ryan Cassidy shared a photo of Pitino coaching with a piece of paper taped to the scoretable with what looked to be the names and faces of the referees on it.
Y’know, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to communicate with the refs during a game for whatever reason. Pitino just found a very direct way to do accomplish that.
Does Rick Pitino have the referees pictures/names taped to the side of the scoretable?? pic.twitter.com/5CFcDk5vNY
Pitino is still getting used to his new role at St. John’s, and he’s going to have to get acclimated for a new bunch of officials for his team’s games.
However, a piece of paper taped to a scoreboard was not on our bingo card for how Pitino would keep track of anything in the year 2023.
St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino believes that he will know more about his team and their potential following this Saturday’s scrimmage against Rutgers. That’s because Pitino has heard the buzz about Rutgers basketball and head coach Steve Pikiell.
Having made three straight trips to the postseason, Rutgers basketball is returning to make a return to the NCAA Tournament this year. They have a deep team but there are some question marks about how good this team can be.
During his team’s media day, Pitino was asked about his expectations for his group. Hired this offseason, Pitino was a massive addition as a head coach to a St. John’s program that has been consistently inconsistent over the past decade.
Pitino answered that after Saturday’s scrimmage against Rutgers, he will know more about both teams.
“I’m going to answer politically correct just because I don’t know the competition. I’ll know more Saturday. I think Saturday is going to tell me more. Because I’ve had two people, Bill Raftery being one, a couple other people saying that they were very impressed with Rutgers,” Pitino told reporters.
“And I think Rutgers feels they are every bit as good as last year if not better. They are a really well-coached team, coach Pikiell does an outstanding job,fundamentally in every phase of the game.”
It is a good test for both programs.
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For Rutgers, it is a chance to see how freshman four-star Gavin Griffiths and transfer portal guard Noah Fernandes fit into the program. And for Pitino, his first game in charge of St. John’s will be a first look at the new pieces that have come into the program.
— Rutgers Scarlet Knights | TheKnightReport.Net (@RutgersRivals) October 17, 2023
“For us, being a young team, playing against Rutgers early in the season, that will tell me where we’re at. And that will judge how good we are,” Pitino said.
“Right now, I’m optimistic, I’m hopeful but I really don’t know the competition. So Saturday will tell us a lot of things.”
