St. John’s head basketball coach Rick Pitino was not happy with the refs following the Red Storm’s 99-98 double overtime loss to Baylor in the opening round of the Baha Mar Hoops Championship on November 21. Pitino called the officials’ actions “unethical” for icing Zuby Ejiofor before he missed two free throws that could’ve put the game out of reach before Bears guard Jeremy Roach hit the game-winning three at the buzzer.
“I felt at the end of the game it was highly unethical to go to the camera on a BS make-up and icing my free-throw shooter. Highly unethical and the referees should never let it happen,” Pitino said to reporters postgame.
Pitino set himself up for serious social media scrutiny bringing up what’s “unethical” considering his past transgressions at Louisville that got him fired.
College basketball fans were quick to hold Pitino accountable for the verbal gaffe.
“Well, if there’s anyone who knows a lot about being “unethical,” it would be Rick Pitino,” one fan wrote in response to his quote.
“Rick Pitino is an interesting person to be speaking about what is and is not ethical,” another tweeted.
“Rick Pitino is the last person on this planet that should be allowed to use the word ‘unethical’ unless he’s talking abt himself,” said another.
“I often ask Rick Pitino to tell me what’s ethical,” one writer quipped.
Pitino went to court over an extortion case with a woman he had a sexual encounter with back in 2003 and later was fired from Louisville for improper payment to a recruit before it was legal under NIL.
He admitted that he deserved to be fired by the U of L on March 16, 2020.
“Looking back on it now, I deserved to be fired by Louisville,” Pitino said on WFAN (h/t ESPN). “Was I innocent of any wrongdoing? Yes I was, but I was the leader and I deserved to be fired. I need to move on and that’s what I probably have learned the most.”
Even though Pitino is long past that incident, it’s clear his past will haunt him – particularly when he says things that make some question if he even remembers his controversial past at all.
