Tipton is a negative ninny. We know this. But there are limits, and he may well have exceeded them with a recent article.
Matt Jones and some people over at TCP and around the Big Blue Nation have laid eyes on a Jerry Tipton article about Dusty Mills getting kicked off the team that painted Billy Gillispie in a very negative light. That article, as of this moment, is not anywhere on the Herald-Leader's pages, but it can still be read here. However, following the breadcrumbs leads to a blank page.
Perhaps it's just an oversight or a programming error by the IT staff over at the H-L, who knows? As to the substance of the article, it paints Billy Gillispie as essentially a dominating liar who won't even consider reason for one second, just his own private power trip. It is disturbing in the extreme.
I won't pretend to know what happened here. Kids tell tall tales, especially kids who feel they were wronged. But in my opinion, this article requires some kind of response from the coaching staff. Nobody can tell Gillispie how to run his team, but this is one of those unfortunate things that can't be pushed under the rug. It directly impugns Gillispie's character in a way that will be used against Kentucky by other programs, and casts the University in a poor light.
There is no way Tipton should have printed this article without doing more legwork. This, in my opinion, is tabloid reporting at its worst, giving only one side of the story and doing so in such a way as to tarnish the reputation of the Kentucky coach. It is shameful, and disturbing. Unfortunately, it now requires an explanation from either Tipton or Gillispie or both. I don't want to make a mountain out of a molehill, but the mole that made this one must have been of the Jurassic Park variety.
Update [2008-2-20 10:15:53 by Truzenzuzex]:: John Clay just emailed me and assured me that this article has not been pulled. It is apparently now where it is supposed to be.
John also said that Tipton did do his legwork on the article, and Gillispie just chose a limited reponse. Unfortunately, given all this, we must all draw our own conclusions, at least for now.
My conclusion is this: Gillispie looks like a bully. No frills, just the way I see it, and if this is all we get, it lowers my opinion of Gillispie significantly.
I'm all about supporting our coach, but the latin proverb goes, "Qui tacet consentire videtur." He who is silent is understood to consent. So be it. My opinion of Tipton is also significantly lower. The article, however well researched, is written from such a one-sided perspective that it has the look and feel of a political hit piece. Burying comments from the coach under a fusillade of incriminating quotes from Mills is just unacceptable.