When the Bruce Pearl saga came up September 10th, most people wanted to keep Pearl. I was one of them. Yes, Bruce made a stupid, idiotic decision. And yes, he didn’t come “clean” till he knew he was caught. While I didn’t like the lie in any form, I looked at the violation in itself. The cookout wasn’t much, and Bruce panicked. I liked the sanctions UT put on him, and felt it was proper punishment. I changed my tune some when I learned that he was calling recruits and their families to help cover his punishment. However, I could see the point of keeping him, and understood why people didn’t want him gone.
I have now changed my mind. With the Letter of Allegations coming out, the NCAA alleged that Pearl committed a violation (it’s on page eleven on the report) FOUR DAYS after the press conference announcing the penalties. The allegation is that Pearl violated the “bump” rule, and had a two or three minute conversation with 2012 recruit Jordan Adams.
What Pearl did was a slap to the face of the fans. He (again) betrayed our trust after promising (and crying) to behave. He basically spat upon the university after Hamilton decided to keep him despite his troubles, when most schools would have fired him. Instead of being on his best behavior, and taking advantage of his second chance, he showed no respect towards the rules again. How much of an egomaniac do you have to be where you say, “I know I just got caught breaking rules, lying about it, then got caught trying to cover them up. And that the university still supports me and lets me still have my job…but screw it, we need this recruit so let’s take the chance.” Bruce Pearl put himself first, and showed that he only cares about himself with this latest allegation.
Unless you only care about winning, I just don’t know how you can justify keeping Coach Pearl after this. If you look at it, Bruce Pearl lied again to the university and NCAA. After promising to keep his nose clean and be on his best behavior, he goes on later in the week with absolute no respect for anyone and breaks the rule. This wasn’t something that can be labeled “accidental”, nor can you say it’s one of those rules nobody knows about. It’s been in existence for a few years. The complete lack of compliance here is what’s telling. Bruce Pearl didn’t just screw up once…this is a character problem. This isn’t just a one-time thing. This is a mindset for Bruce Pearl: I can do whatever I want.
I think Bruce Pearl’s character has now been shown. The university was already risking a lot by keeping Pearl. But now, how can you keep him? How can you ever trust him to follow the rules, let alone trust him when he tells you something? Hasn’t he shown he only looks out for himself? Yes, Bruce Pearl is a nice guy. He is a good basketball coach that has done a lot for the university, in more than one way than just basketball. Hell, I’ve even had a conversation with him, and he’s an engaging guy and hard not to like. But he has gone too far. It’s time to fire him. The sanctions might do more damage than the good he has done for UT. I love to win as much as anybody, but at this point, it’s not about winning anymore. It’s about having some respect for the university and the program. Bruce Pearl is not above the UT basketball program, and he does not deserve to be the face of UT Basketball.
15 responses to “It's time for Bruce Pearl to go”
For what it’s worth, it seems that UT compliance believes the September 14th incident was not a violation:
“Two sources in the UT athletic department who requested anonymity because of the NCAA case has not been completed, said Hamilton has been aware of the so-called “bump” violation, which refers to an unintentional impermissible contact. The sources said UT’s compliance department deemed it wasn’t a violation, and so it wasn’t self-reported.”
Right now, I honestly don’t trust UT’s AD in any capacity. The NCAA believes it was a violation, and they should have reported it anyway considering what has happened. It looks like we are covering it up.
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No, the NCAA alleges that it’s a violation per what they’ve been told. UT hasn’t responded to this allegation yet. I can respect someone who said all along that we should fire Pearl but to use a possible bump rule as the tipping point…no. Give the school a chance to respond. Didn’t people/blogs allege Bama committed a violation this past weekend re: Sanders, Jr and then the Compliance Office said no? I don’t think their Compliance Office would lie no matter what the boosters’ reputations. Either way, just say you want him fired – no matter that he and the school can’t respond to this bump rule incident publicly.
gee whiz you are changing your tune over that? seems our compliance staff believed it was not a violation so it was permitted. pearl probably contacted the recruit to tell them there would be no contact for a year. perspective writer. do you think the coach could have secured his commitment with that call not knowing he’d be out of contact for a year?
THE LONGER THIS THING GOES, THE MORE INCLINED I AM TO AGREE THAT CP SHOULD BE FIRED ALONG WITH THE AD! I REALLY LIKE CP AS A COACH AND HE IS ONE OF THE LAST PEOPLE THAT I THOUGHT WOULD BREAK THE RULES. BOY, WAS I WRONG! I BET FULLMER AS AD WOULD FIND AN EXCELLENT BASKETBALL COACH!
Factually speaking, I fail to see the importance of this “bump” violation when from all accounts the UT compliance dept thinks that this is bunk and did not feel the need to report it as it was never a violation. I believe once we respond that this bump vio will be redacted and have nil impact on the NCAA’s ruling nor punishments handed down. I feel no difference now as I did last week or the week after that. Even if this bump violation is confirmed to be a legitimate accusation, if Bruce went to the compliance dept to check on this before making the call… I just can’t connect the dots in a way that implicates Bruce. If he covered his arse by following the direction of our compliance dept, then this falls squarely on the University and NOT on Bruce IMO.
Go Vols and lets wrap this season up in style with a few seed building wins and sit back and wait for what we can’t control to go down before calling for heads to roll. When(again, IMO) this bump rule is removed from the allegations upon review, will you just pull a Billy Donovan and be behind Bruce again? I’d rather wait for the ruling to make my decision to the point of making a post or blog about my opinions on something that is completely fluid at this point.
Go Vols!!!
The lie was worse than the violation 4 days after the press conference. Everyone breaks rules.
Bruce Pearl’s actions speak louder than any words he, or Mike Hamilton, can utter. In his personal life, and his professional life, the facts of his actions have spoken much louder, and much clearer, than any well-chosen words, or well-timed tears, before the press and an adoring fan base.
Bruce Pearl is a liar, and a cheater. Ask his ex-wife. Or the NCAA. They both know the truth that UT fans simply refuse to acknowledge.
He should be fired, sooner rather than later. And Mike Hamilton should walk the plank as well. Mike knew, and if he didn’t, he should have. In any event, the combination of the Lane Kiffin disaster, and Bruce Pearl…both Hamiton hires…should be enough to convince anyone with an iota of common sense that Mike Hamilton lacks the insight, foresight, and commitment to winning with class that defines….or used to…UT Athletics.
It is time…past time…to flush the toilet in Knoxville. Failing that, we will be wallowing in the sewage of bad hires, and bad decisions, for years to come.
We are one major violation away from being the next SMU. Are you willing to gamble on Pearl, and Hamilton…given their track record…to not let that happen?
Go Vols.
Yes, SMU, because we are paying players…..
Zack believes in doling out punishment prior to all the evidence being presented in a court of law, I suppose. I believe we should let t;he evidence be presented and rebuffed prior to the sentence. Thats the way our constitution is written, and I defended it and will continue to defend it!
Go Vols!!
Bull Poopie. We get probation. AA is not going to levy a smackdown on Pearl or Hammy.
History says this, I do not believe in the conspiracty theory that AA is out to burn UT or Pearl. He lied, he admitted, Slive suspended, he lost significant pay, he bumped.
Calhoun got a 3 gamer for NEXT year?!!! How many phone calls did his staff make??? Hammy handled this investigation as best he could. Pearl scares the hell outta KY fans….gotta love it. Hope he has learned his lesson and is here to stay. GO VOLS!
Calhoun wasn’t charged with unethical conduct. Pearl was. That’s the difference. Of the last 20 coaches that were charged with that by the NCAA, 19 of them were given a show-cause order of 2 years or longer.
The NCAA couldn’t prove Calhoun knew all that went on in his department, but do you think he was really in the dark? I believe in second chances and we need to take a deep breath and see what happens. Coach Pearl has already been punished a lot! A lot of the people calling for his head are not UT fans.
I am a bleed-orange UT fan. And I had the utmost respect for Bruce Pearl up until this whole episode came to light. So I was thoroughly shocked and disheartened when I learned of it. IMHO, the acts which are most despicable are the willful violation (sounds like he knew at the time of the cookout that it was a violation and told the recruits and their families so), the lie to the NCAA and the stupidity of what he lied about (how did he not think the truth would come out?), and the other attempts to cover up by contacting recruits and their relatives to “coach” them on how to respond to the NCAA (taking his coach role a bit too far). Unfortunately, these things speak volumes about his character or lack thereof. I could deal with minor violations and honest mistakes. What I can’t tolerate is deliberate disregard, lying, and covering up. Some say he “fessed up”, but not until it was clear he was “caught”. To me that’s not really fessing up. I believe he should be gone, as well as Hamilton (for this AND Kiffin). It feels uncomfortable to me every time I see Pearl still coaching and representing the school, or hear someone from UT say they continue to support him. It is a huge dishonor to the integrity of the University. Now if Pat Summitt ever falls off that pedestal I’ve got her on, I just don’t know………… Go Vols and Lady Vols!
Firing a coach, taking his lively hood away for the violations Coach Pearl faces is unconsionable. The punishment doesn’t fit the crime. Its like caning your kid for not doing his homework and then lying about it. I think Pearl should be punished. I think the university should be punished. However, I don’t think that he should be fired.