On or around August 19, an automated telephone opinion poll was conducted regarding the University of Louisville and the Rick Pitino – Karen Sypher scandal.
Here were the questions (some paraphrased to cut down on verbosity):
- What’s your overall opinion of the University of Louisville? Four answer choices ranging from very favorable to very unfavorable
- In recent months, has your opinion of the university gotten better or worse?
- Are you aware of recent issues regarding Pitino?
- Has your awareness of the Pitino situation made your opinion of UofL better or worse?
- What is your opinion of the way UofL President Ramsey has handled this situation? Choices were: excellent, good, fair and poor
- What should the university do next concerning Coach Pitino? Choices: want and see, nothing, sanction the coach but retain him and fire the coach
- Did you or are you attending UofL?
- Do you have kids who attend or attended UofL?
- Have you ever donated money to UofL?
- Gender?
- Age?
- Race?
Anyone got further details?
22 responses so far ↓
1 Belknap Banquo // Aug 28, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Never heard of this, Jake. Wouldn’t seem smart by UofL but………You know. Wonder if Mrs. Plate Glass got a call?
2 Ray Re // Aug 28, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Was one of the questions : Are you more or less inclined to request a booth at Porcini’s?
3 David Harpe // Aug 28, 2009 at 1:04 pm
No booth – I want the Vinnie Tatum floor seat.
4 bestmid // Aug 28, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Maybe Shirley’s got time on her hands and a speed-dial jones…
5 TJ // Aug 28, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Is it just me, or does Tom Loftus look a whole lot like Phillip Garrido?
6 Ray Re // Aug 28, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Well, OK, Harpe, but I was always thought that the Vinnie was the worst deal in the house. You get to listen to the chef at work and smell the scampi, but then you don’t even get to eat a single bite. Then they throw you a towel and make you clean up.
7 Novena // Aug 28, 2009 at 3:09 pm
“Sir, What Do You Think of UofL?”
In my far-out imaginings, wouldn’t it be somethin’ if the Board of Cadavers (ooops, Trustees) was behind this telephone opinion poll? About as likely as Ramsey or Jurich ever setting foot in Porcini’s.
8 Conservative // Aug 28, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Maybe I’m just different, but I don’t consider the Pitino deal to be a U of L problem. The Felner case, yes, very much so, because it involved someone’s work behavior. The nursing student expulsion case? Absolutely.
But not Pitino. He just happens to be an employee of the university (albeit a very high-profile one) who got caught up in something totally outside the bounds of his employment. I don’t associate his foibles with anything else going wrong for U of L.
9 Novena // Aug 29, 2009 at 1:48 am
“Public vs. Private Exits”
Conservative, would you say the same about Mark Sanford, John Ensign, David Vitter, Larry Craig, etc.?
10 Just me // Aug 29, 2009 at 6:53 am
Gee, I kinda thought Felner was an employee of the university?
11 eric schansberg // Aug 29, 2009 at 7:08 am
We were called as part of the poll. At first, it sounded so cheesy that I was wondering if it was anti-Pitino folk wanting to stir up trouble.
12 Bob Colglaizer // Aug 29, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Conservative is correct — the 2003 Pitino act did not impair his ability to do his job well — witness the fact that he’s coached six fairly successful teams since then.
What’s changed is that the act became public through the efforts of a person who made a baseless allegation specifically so the matter would become public, and who will soon be tried for extortion.
That means Pitino gets judged for the act, just like any other employee who has sex in a closed restaurant (away from the workplace) with a person who is neither their spouse nor a co-worker.
The politicians mentioned by Novena will be judged for their acts by their constituent-bosses, like Pitino’s act is being judged by his UofL bosses.
If you care about it that much, send those guys an e-mail, and when they’ve made their final decision, like we do after an election, no more whining.
Try a Ranchburger at Bob Colglaizer’s!
13 Conservative // Aug 30, 2009 at 9:50 am
Conservative, would you say the same about Mark Sanford, John Ensign, David Vitter, Larry Craig, etc.?
I guess you conveniently left Bill Clinton off the list.
What Pitino did was on his own time. What Felner did was in his capacity as a U of L employee. That’s the difference I was trying to convey.
14 briansmith // Aug 30, 2009 at 11:41 am
I can always tell when a conservative has run out of rhetorical ammunition. They mention Bill Clinton. He is to sex scandals what 9/11 is to torture apologists.
15 Novena // Aug 30, 2009 at 11:52 am
“Where Were Bill, George, Dick, Bobby and Rick?
Conservative, I intentionally left out Clinton for the very reason cited by briansmith. And you took the bait. Issue: Clinton’s blow jobs had nada to do with his public service. Now, Cheney and Bush were a different matter: on the public dime, they sent thousands upon thousands to their deaths on lies they created.
P.S. They were far worse than Felner or Pitino could ever be (though I hardly defend that lamentable duo). And I do get your p0int on the public vs. private dichotomy. I agree that Felner is more guilty than Pitino for the reason you cite. Thanks for bringing it out.
16 Polar // Aug 30, 2009 at 3:25 pm
I’m much more concerned with the disposition and the University’s involvement in the Felner case, and much much more concerned about the University’s unwarranted actions towards Tina Yoder, than the whole Pitino thing, although Pitino does need to face some louder music than he’s presently facing.
17 Novena // Aug 30, 2009 at 3:37 pm
“Polar Puts It Well”
Agreed, Polar. We had forgotten to mention the Yoder case, which UofL would be wise to drop like a hot potato. Freedom of speech and thought is at stake there. There should be no question that Yoder and Felner overshadow the Pitino scandal in terms of the University’s status as a true university–not that Rick will win any Eagle Scout of America awards.
18 le gardien de but // Aug 30, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Want to bet whether the results are released to the public IF the answers do not please SW & JR…
19 Wondering // Aug 30, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Does someone know when Felner trail will begin?
20 Wondering // Aug 30, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Does someone know when Felner trail will begin?
21 Novena // Aug 30, 2009 at 8:01 pm
“JR & SW: Information Ministers”
le gardien, you’re on target. Control of information is a powerful tool that JR & SW have in abundance. They can choose to shape opinion or simply ignore it. Too bad they don’t use wisdom to shape the University in soundly academic, moral and humane directions. Sorry, I forgot they don’t have the “wisdom tool.”
22 Marko // Aug 31, 2009 at 8:53 am
Jake, I was called on this poll. Despite being a robo-poll, the questions seemed pretty fair — you got them about right. If it helps, at the end I remember a woman saying something like “Thank you for participating, this is Deborah (or Debbie or Diane) Lawrence with ….” and the polling firm’s name. My sense at the time, given the questioning, was that it was someone associated with U of L or the media conducting the poll.
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