Tom Izzo told FOX Sports Daybreak that he thinks players and coaches should both be held accountable anytime the program is mired in a cheating scandal like the one at Louisville.
Question:
“Coach, I want to talk about a remark that Louisville coach Rick Pitino made last week. He said when a school commits a violation – and it looks like Louisville did – the school should be fined, the players should not be punished. What about the coach? What are your thoughts on that? Should the coach be fined and punished?”
Tom Izzo:
“Yeah, I think so. But I’m a little different too. I think when it comes to cheating, the players should hold some onus. I mean if we’re old enough to declare for the NBA Draft, we should be old enough to know what’s right and wrong too.
But I do think the players that are getting nailed like at USC or (Louisville) two and three years later, I don’t think that’s right…
I really think we all got to sit down and figure it out and start using a little more common sense and figure out if we’re cheating, then something should be done about it, and if a player is cheating, then something should be done about it. I think everybody should be held accountable if we’re going to get this thing straightened out.”
Listen to the Tom Izzo audio at this link.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
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