Judy Cunigan wants to kill Rick Pitino… ESPN’s Pat Forde tells Karen Sypher’s side of the story (sort of)

WOW.

As I was reading Pat Forde’s just released article on ESPN.com, and that led off the third paragraph… all I could think was WOW.  What in the world has happened or is going on here?  

First I would like to commend and praise Pat Forde for being the only journalist to step up to the plate and let Karen Sypher speak out, as she has so desperately tried to do for the last week.  Regardless of what the truth is, I think given that this is now a “news” story we deserve to hear both sides of the story, and not just what WDRB or any other “news” organization decides to let us hear.

I always enjoyed Pat Forde’s columns, whether I agreed with him or not, during his time in Louisville working for The Courier-Journal, and I still enjoy his work on ESPN. 

CLICK HERE TO READ PAT FORDE’S ENTIRE ARTICLE

Here is a brief summary of what Karen Sypher and her mother, Judy Cunigan had to say to Mr. Forde.

Forde starts the piece off with a quote from Judy Cunigan: “I want to kill him,” she says, “for what he’s done to my family.”

He then does an excellent job setting the tone for the piece, one of cautious curiosity and taken with several grains of salt. He lays out the severe credibility problems with Sypher’s claims and reports what facts can actually be “reported”.

What Cunigan alleges Pitino has done to her family dates back more than five years, when her daughter, then Karen Cunigan and now Karen Sypher, first met the coach. The family has never filed any criminal complaints or civil claims against Pitino, and to date, their allegations remain so unsubstantiated that they cannot even be reported responsibly. As one source close to the situation put it, “There are severe credibility problems here.”

What can be reported is that Karen Sypher — now the estranged wife of Louisville basketball equipment manager Tim Sypher — is under federal investigation for allegedly extorting Pitino.

That is about all anyone can say about this at the moment. There are very little facts that have emerged, and those facts have come with less than a spoonful of details.

Karen Sypher said tearfully Tuesday afternoon that her name has been dragged through the mud, and wondered how she would ever get another job. Yet she agreed to meet with an ESPN.com reporter despite the urging of her attorney, Thomas Clay, to keep quiet.

In fact, Karen Sypher told ESPN.com that Clay quit as her attorney Tuesday because his client would not stop publicly airing her grievances against Pitino, and, to a lesser extent, grievances against her own husband. Clay said Wednesday that he does still represent Karen Sypher, at least as of the time of the phone call.

“[Clay] has not helped me,” Karen Sypher said earlier in the day by phone. “He tells me to keep my mouth shut and he’ll keep me out of prison. This is ridiculous. What have I got to lose here?”

“I feel like I’m in this web here, and I didn’t start it. I am the victim here, not Rick Pitino, and I’m sick of it.”

The FBI could decide otherwise, and soon. But as they investigate, the rumor mill spins at a hysterical rate.

Judy Cunigan, a woman who apparently has no qualms about saying what is on her mind, goes on to say this regarding Karen’s estranged husband Tim Sypher: “Tim is so far in Rick’s pockets and up his butt, you’d be amazed,” Cunigan said. “Tim’s always chose Rick over Karen. That’s the way their marriage has been.”

“Now they’ve got it going around that I asked for millions of dollars,” Cunigan said. “We haven’t asked for anything but the truth.”

Judy Cunigan said other calls were made by a family friend she only identified as “Lester.” She said that to her knowledge, Lester never threatened Pitino but only encouraged him to do right by Karen.

During Forde’s meeting with Sypher, this took place:

She has documents with her that she wants to make public, but not yet; not if doing so will heighten the risk of being imprisoned. She says her recent divorce filing in Jefferson Circuit Court Family Division is especially revealing, but the documents have been sealed by court order.

She talks, and she cries, more than once. She says she hasn’t slept well, doesn’t eat well and has relied on counseling to get her through recent weeks. She is terrified of what will happen to her children if she is sent to jail.

“My life’s over,” she says at one point.

Several miles away, her mother stays behind locked doors and shuttered blinds — fearing, she says, for herself and for her daughter.

“Rick is a powerful man,” Judy Cunigan said. “And I don’t think you can beat a powerful man.”

What exactly does Judy Cunigan mean when she says all this “Lester” character told Pitino was to “do right” by Karen? Does this mean pay her off or else…? Does this mean pay her off to keep quiet? If so, um, that’s extortion.

This article was a bit disappointing to me. I thought we were going to learn of the accusations Karen Sypher wanted to make against Pitino. And clearly again, whatever they are no one is willing to repeat them.

Aside from a couple sound bytes from Karen’s mother, there really isn’t much substance here. I mean we learn that the FBI had Sypher take a polygraph as well, which multiple sources say she failed.

We learn that Karen Sypher is a nervous wreck because “She is terrified of what will happen to her children if she is sent to jail.”

We learn that Karen Sypher, only after being reported to the FBI decided she would go to the media and accuse Pitino of something so outrageous that no one will repeat what it is.

We learn that Karen Sypher talks too much. According to her mother, according to her lawyer. Apparently she talks so much that her lawyer supposedly quit on her, and has told her to “keep her mouth shut and he’ll keep her out of prison”.

We learn that Karen Sypher is a woman who is so desperate she ignores her legal counsel because in her words: “…what have I got to lose…?”

We learn that we are still left with only assumptions.

We learn that we are still left not knowing what to think.

……..
Oh and one more thing: Given that your daughter is in the middle of being investigated by the FBI on extortion charges, saying that you “want to kill” the man your daughter supposedly tried to extort… not too intelligent.