Comments on: Summitt’s Son Could Provide A Way Out For Tennessee

By: noelreifer

noelreifer — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 20:10:28 +0000

Jennings is not showing gratitude for 35 years at UT. She should have moved on. She is dragging down the school. Pat (with much respect) needed to move on. Hart had the dirty job. Regardless of the details Jennings should have gotten on board with Hart and Pat (in her rational mind) would have wanted what was best for the program. Jennings’ hurt feelings will cost everbody a lot of money.

By: John at MrSEC

John at MrSEC — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 15:25:13 +0000

@quad77

Ah, good to know. And the fact that I wasn’t sure if you were joking tells you EXACTLY what kind of emails I’m getting!

All the best and thanks for reading,
John

By: quad77

quad77 — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 15:01:06 +0000

@John at MrSEC I was only kidding, cause i am sure my fellow vol fans are sending you hate mail. I have appreciated your coverage of the entire thing

By: John at MrSEC

John at MrSEC — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:50:24 +0000

@quad77

I don’t know if you’re kidding or not about Hart, but the gist of my story — and I think I hinted about as strongly as I could at what I believe happened after talking to multiple sources — is that Summitt was drawn into signing something that she shouldn’t have signed. I don’t believe UT did force her out… I think they laid out options for her and she misunderstood the options. I think they had her best interests at heart and I believe Tyler Summitt was involved to a degree.

I could be wrong, but I don’t think a new AD is going to force out Pat Summitt. She even stated in the affidavit that Hart told her she’d misunderstood him in their first meeting.

You may not like the man because he’s from Alabama, but I don’t think Hart has a death wish. Forcing out Pat Summitt would be akin to banning Peyton Manning from Neyland Stadium. Hart would be roasted alive.

Let’s see how this plays out. As stated, if Summitt or her son say the affidavit was somehow signed in error or taken the wrong way by the press and fans, that should exonerate the UT administration and put the light back on Debby Jennings… who dragged Summitt into this in the first place by naming her in the lawsuit. If Summitt or her son do not make a statement, then Hart and crew will twist in the wind and face an increasing firestorm (to mix my cliches).

Thanks for reading the site,
John

By: sec_fan

sec_fan — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:47:29 +0000

@quad77
That would still be John. The athletic department has to cut the budget without eliminating programs and combining the departments was the best way. This lawsuit still has problems; it was well known that Pat was sick and this would likely would be her last year, since she was replaced by a woman there is no discrimination. The women’s athletic department being eliminated means that duplicate offices would be taken by the men’s department, thus more women would lose their position. The men’s athletic department is responsible for the money and whether it seems fair or not that is the reality. This lawsuit is sad since it seems like Jennings is putting a sick Pat Summit and her son in the middle of her own vendetta.

By: quad77

quad77 — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:30:25 +0000

and you called us UT fans crazy when we suggested that Hart was sent from Bama/Saban to systematically disable us.
Look who was right now MR Sec

By: 10Vol85

10Vol85 — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 11:31:21 +0000

“so what” – If she was forced to retire, then it should have come with rationale – not a lie (even granting that she corraborated it). That is what. There is no shame in the truth. Certainly, there is a point beyond which she would be unable to continue but from my perspective that would have nothing to do with wins and losses. Win you have ~40 years of success at the level she’s had, you’ve earned a lot of leeway. You could average in a couple of 0-fer years and still come out way ahead of most programs. The issue would be if she were negatively affecting lives and beyond the point of being able to mentally comprehend it.

Summitt’s earned our trust over many, many years. I’ll take her word over Hart’s any day until I hear from someone close to her that her mental state has been affected to the point that it is no longer so.

By: John at MrSEC

John at MrSEC — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 04:52:21 +0000

@KY_Daktari

You make sense. I agree. If a coach is ill, it’s up to the school to do what’s best for its program. That’s logical.

The problem is this… how many fans — short for “fanatics” — do you know who apply logic when their favorite team or coach or player is involved.

Legendary coaches are had to force out. That’s just a fact of life.

Many thanks for reading the site.

John

By: KY_Daktari

KY_Daktari — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 04:44:32 +0000

I’m sorry, but I’m not sure I see the issue. So what if she was forced to retire? She is terribly ill and could not perform her job at the highest level, or perhaps at all. It also sounds like she may be be capable of making these types of decisions for herself. Hart did what he thought was best for the program. As important as she has been, she cannot be bigger than the program.

Rupp was forced to retire at UK due to age. Manning was replaced in Indianapolis due to another young QB coming along. Same with Montana.These things happen.

of course, I have no connection to the program beyond wife and in-laws from Knoxville. Here’s hoping they figure this out without dragging Summitt through the mud any further. It seems to me that Jennings is the problem here.