I am Rick Pitino. Aren’t we all capable of a fall from grace?

When Rick Pitino became University of Louisville’s head basketball coach back in 2001, my endearing admiration for him suddenly turned into outright contempt.

I’m a loyalty kind of guy, and what Rick did was unforgivable. I appreciate what he accomplished at the University of Kentucky, but I’ll never understand anyone turning Benedict Arnold. You don’t sleep with the enemy, stab your former employer in the back or marry your ex-wife’s best friend. Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat. But who am I to judge?

Now after his marital infidelity, strippers in the dorm and the ongoing FBI probe, everyone’s judging him. We’ve been inundated with commentaries and podcasts castigating him for lack of moral integrity. Social media mavens are having field days with quips, GIFs and wisecracks satirizing his embarrassing indiscretions.

Through it all, Pitino simply can’t keep his own mouth shut, continuing to draw more attention to himself at a time where humility, contrition and discretion would serve him much better.

I’m not condoning any of what Pitino and the U of L basketball program have been accused of doing. Lying, cheating, infidelity, greed and pride are never the keys to success. The university was completely correct in letting him go. I’m surprised they didn’t fire him sooner.

But that doesn’t mean we need to keep kicking a man when he’s down, dragging his name through the mud or making hurtful jokes for the sake of additional clicks.

Call me cynical, but I think what happened at U of L is happening to some degree at every single program in America. That doesn’t make it right — just a bit less surprising when the perpetrators are caught. The UK/UL rivalry just won’t be the same without Pitino. Both fans and media alike will soon suffer from his absence.

Retired Army Gen. Colin Powell once said, “Power corrupts, but absolute power is ... pretty darn neat.”

That’s what happened to Pitino and the rest of the Louisville heads of state. They became intoxicated with power and operated as if they were above the law. They succumbed to the soothing serenade of their sycophants and honestly believed that they were pooping ice cream.

Did he know what was going on under his watch? Even if he didn’t, violations of that magnitude can’t be tolerated. Whether intentionally dismissive or incompetently ignorant, Pitino didn’t want to upset the gravy train.

How many of us, if we were truly honest with ourselves, would have acted differently had we been placed in similar circumstances? Who amongst us — when presented with a chance for fame, fortune and the lure of success beyond our wildest imaginations — wouldn’t have found a way to justify our motives and rationalize our purposes?

Who, when faced with important lifestyle choices, haven’t made dumb decisions later regretted? Realistically speaking, we’re all just one small temptation away from crashing and burning. The only thing saving many of us is our lack of opportunity.

When it comes to character flaws, human frailties and personality glitches, I’m as gullible as the next guy. I’m no better than Pitino, so I derive no joy in his fall from grace.

When it comes right down to it, I am Rick Pitino. I may not have his coaching acumen, his Armani suits or his social standing from a fabulous career, but given the right circumstances, I’d probably muck it up just like he did.

For those reasons, I certainly won’t throw stones at him in his hour of trouble. And neither should you.

This story was originally published November 6, 2017 at 2:20 PM with the headline "I am Rick Pitino. Aren’t we all capable of a fall from grace?."