Former two-time NCAA National Champion and Hall of Fame Head Coach Rick Pitino is making headlines again, but this time for the wrong reasons. Pitino is now an integral part of the latest college basketball recruiting scandal, further dirtying the reputation of the sport in eyes of the public. Pitino, the previous Providence, New York, Kentucky, Boston, and Louisville head coach, has just recently been terminated by the  University  of  Louisville for his involvement in the  new scandal. The NCAA has investigated the former Louisville coach multiple times, but now he has the FBI going after him, marking possibly the most serious of his run-ins with the law.

Pitino has gotten himself in trouble three times now. First, an extortion scheme in 2009 led to Pitino admitting to having engaged in sexual activity with his equipment manager’s wife, and also confessing to having paid for her abortion. In 2014, he and his staff were scrutinized because of a claim that Louisville coaches were paying prostitutes to have sex with underage recruits. “Those two previous allegations are insane,” says senior Ben Rehs. “He should’ve been fired a long time ago.” His newest allegations, though, finally brought an end to his nearly 16-year tenure with the Cardinals.

The FBI, currently con- ducting a thorough investigation, claims that Louisville bribed a potential Division-1 basketball player with $100,000 to come play for the University. Additionally, Louisville is being investigated regarding another claim that Adidas paid a top recruit to attend Louisville and repre- sent the company in the NBA. Consequently, Louisville fired Pitino. This happened to occur only one day after federal prosecutors accused two unidentified Cardinals coaches of directing money provided by Adidas to high school prospects. “I’m surprised the recruits haven’t gotten in trouble; they should be punished too,” senior Sebastian Ospina comments. One of the recruits has already requested a transfer from the school, while the other is waiting to see what sanctions the NCAA passes down. Louisville has also had two top-100 recruits decommit from their 2018 recruiting class, one being ranked #5 in the whole class.

Although Pitino was fired, he remains under contract, leaving the school with a $44 million buy-out. The former coach does not have that many options if he wants to continue his career, as he could be staring down a lifetime ban or a very lengthy suspension that will likely be handed down once the investigation concludes. The lone option Pitino could be facing is retirement, as his punishments will be too severe and his reputation forever tarnished. Pitino had a career full of victories, but it seems his illegal activity finally caught up with him. Ultimately, his actions may cause Louisville to face the death penalty in terms of reputation, and furthermore, is at risk to have his wins or champion- ships stripped from him by the NCAA.