As the volume turns to 11 on calls for Rick Pitino to vacate the University of Louisville Cardinals’ hot seat — voluntarily or not — the coach remains obstinate: “I don’t know what resigning would accomplish,” he told his friend and Louisville broadcasting legend Terry Meiners. “I think that’s the cowardly way out.”
Pitino’s sentiment is about as surprising as a post-bender hangover. Quitting is the very antithesis of the über-hyper-competitive culture of big time sport. From tee-ball to the World Series, athletes are conditioned to play hard until the final strike: Giving up violates the core of the sporting omertà code.