Rick Pitino Shows America’s Abortion Hypocrisy

On August 12, former Boston Celtics coach and current Louisville coach Rick Pitino admitted to paying for an abortion?for a woman he had a fling with outside of his marriage in 2003. She has accused him of rape, but since there is no evidence, her charges are essentially being ignored and Pitino has filed extortion charges. The tone of the reports on this situation rightfully focus on the extortion, including Karen Cunagin Sypher’s unusual statements and her claim of rape despite records showing Pitino was in California at the time of the second alleged rape.

However, I notice with some disappointment that nobody is talking about the abortion part of the circumstances. Why did Pitino believe Sypher when she claimed he was the father? Why pay her off immediately? In what was probably an attempt to protect his reputation, he killed a child (Sypher claimed if Pitino paid her off she would protect his reputation). Yet, as a society and within our media, we accept this outcome, because a woman killed a child. Shall we see what happens when the opposite takes place?

Just last week, Couty Alexander pled guilty to killing his wife and unborn child. The crime, committed in 2008, will put him behind bars for 55 years. Why did he plead guilty to feticide, if we are allowed to kill fetuses in this country at a rate of approximately 1.3 million per year? That’s hypocritical.

In a?high-profile case a decade ago, former NFL player “Rae Carruth was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle and using an instrument to destroy an unborn child and was sentenced to 18-24 years in prison.” Carruth was found guilty in association with the murder of his ex-girlfriend and the carrier of his child, Cherica Adams, who he killed because he didn’t want to pay for the child. That child now has cerebral palsy. According to this site, 21% of abortions take place because the mother cannot afford the child- should we not, as an open-minded society which respects human independence and relativism (note the sarcasm), have diminished the charges by one: namely, “using an instrument to destroy an unborn child?” Seems contradictory to me. Again, Carruth was only trying to prevent the expense of a child.

More recently, and most highly profiled, Scott Peterson was convicted of murder in 2005 and is on death row. He was convicted on two charges of murder, one for his unborn child. He is currently appealing his sentence. This, of course,?is a?terrible tragedy- all?Peterson?did was try to prevent his child from being born (again, note the?sarcasm). According to Planned Parenthood, over 33% of women have an abortion by 45. Why doesn’t Peterson have this same right??Planned Parenthood even went so far so as to, as Kathryn Lopez notes here, support Peterson’s not being charged with two murders. (Planned Parenthood is despicable, but at least they are consistently despicable.)

To some degree, it is fortunate that Rick Pitino is a basketball coach, not a politician or other kind of world leader. He doesn’t make legislation, unlike Speaker Pelosi (an outspoken pro-abortion Catholic), or provide a source of inspiration to millions like President Obama (remember “punished with a baby?”). However, he does bring a pastor to games, and coaches are often a big influence on players and the decisions they make during and after their careers, as well as on fans (think Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski or Notre Dame’s former football coach Lou Holtz). Pitino, whose contract includes the right to be fired for “moral depravity,” should be out as soon as the powers-that-be can feasibly get rid of him. Paying for an abortion,?particularly to protect one’s reputation, is one of the worst moral crimes one can commit, especially as a Catholic, which Pitino is.