There were a few of us who discouraged our UL brethren from joining the BoT in their “rush to judgement”, but the misplaced confidence in the integrity of the FBI was sufficient at the time, that most accepted the Report without questioning either the sources or the allegations.
Tom Jurich immediately reached out to Pitino, who assured him it was not accurate, and all that TJ asked of the Board, was for some time to investigate the facts. It was denied, as Grissom and “Papa John” had already convinced Postel and the Board that both TJ and Rick both needed to leave.
The FBI has engaged in some unprecedented activity over these years, but making their Report public was not only uncharacteristic; it was unprofessional. Their investigation should have first been handed over to a Federal Prosecutor, who in turn could have impaneled a Grand Jury. There is still to this day, absolutely no evidence that Pitino was personally engaged, or even aware of payments to Bowen’s family.
Pitino was negligent in managing his staff, something he freely acknowledged, and admittedly it was grounds for disciplinary action. However firing Pitino was not only expensive and unnecessary; it turns out to have destroyed a basketball program that is still not sure of its future.