Curious Case of Coach John Calipari: The Media's Vendetta Against One Man

Vacation is a term mostly used for a relaxing period of time away from the stress and procedures of our everyday lives. However, in the life of John Calipari, the term is far from describing something enjoyable. Calipari, the current head coach of the University of Kentucky, has been forever tarnished by the previous stops along his brilliant, yet tumultuous coaching career.

Calipari resurrected two programs, Memphis and UMASS, from lonely depths and lead them to a land that many thought to be unattainable. Final Four appearances are a luxury, a true treasure within the college basketball community. The allure, the money and the notoriety becomes a driving point for the men leading college basketball programs, a dream that fills the minds of coaches and awakens them from a slumber with sweat dripping from their brow.  Coach Calipari was able to live the dream, taste the success and managed to do so at downtrodden universities praying for a miracle of success.

However, the aforementioned dream quickly became an unstoppable nightmare, a media mole hill that has quickly morphed into a mountain the size of Everest. Calipari was the beneficiary of two vacated final four appearances due to rule violations involving his star players, Marcus Camby and Derrick Rose. Calipari proved to be in the clear, exonerated in any regards to the reports, according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Yet, when his name is broached in conversation throughout the college basketball community, it is always in relation to the terminology revolving around the word “shady.”

Calipari has long sense attempted to leave the devil’s brew of his past and now possesses one of the most treasured coaching positions in all the land, Head Coach of the University of Kentucky. He is a prized commodity in the Bluegrass State, revered for his ability to return the program to the Blue Blood status their fans so vehemently demand, yearn and boast. Yet, while possessing an undying passion from the beloved followers of the Wildcats, the media scrutiny that has followed Calipari has grown exponentially.

Attacking articles from a verbose media has become a regular occurrence in the everyday life of a confident coach attempting to repair a scarred reputation with goodwill and hard work. Within the first several months on the job, Calipari and Kentucky became the victims of intense scrutiny that had not been witnessed by the college basketball scene in quite sometime. The media had leeched onto a program that possessed a shady past accompanied by the slime ball perception of  a new coach, and were determined to lay claim to their proverbial Moby Dick.

As success, specifically on the recruiting trail,  continued to pour into the program under the tutelage of Coach Cal, the media uproar became more boisterous. Insignificant hearsay regarding recruits, like Eric Bledsoe and DeMarcus Cousins, became dramatic witch hunts attacking family members and the faith of young kids, individuals trying to become successful young men. However, all the attempts returned with futile results. The proverbial “throw it against the wall, and hope it sticks somewhere significant” technique of esteemed journalists began to be mocked throughout the fan base in Lexington, Kentucky. The kitchen sink of reporting had been thrown toward Calipari, and just as before, not even a single bruise was visible. He remained unscathed.

The continuing battle between Calipari and the relentless media continues even though the dust has long settled on his newly formed allegiance with the Big Blue Nation. Reports of large sums of money being placed in the hands of Anthony Davis were devoured by the avid internet community, embellishing in the hope that the sleaze from the Streets of Pittsburgh would finally receive his just due. Yet, once again, the stories dissipated nearly as quickly as they were formed.

The man in the sharp suits and with the winning, albeit sometime arrogant, personality was covered in teflon; nothing of significance would ever stick to Cal. The hyenas eventually lost their ability to proclaim him one of the most successful coaches to have failed to reach the Final Four—considering his previous two appearances were vacated—following a tremendous performance in the 2011 version of March Madness. A Kentucky squad possessing merely six players of excellence and ability played with pride and determination and earned their coach a replacement, another Final Four bid. Although the triumph was short lived with a loss to eventual National Champion Connecticut, the victory remained; Calipari once again possessed a banner to hang proudly, Kentucky’s 14th appearance in the National Semifinals.

The Wildcats and their rogue leader enter another season with pristine visions. A team enhanced by its third straight number one recruiting class, hauled in by the current Godfather of the recruiting scene,  has fans yearning for the blow of the whistle of Midnight Madness. Anxiously awaiting the undying criticism that continually attempts to derail the momentum that is building within the confines of Rupp Arena and throughout the domineering fanbase. Embracing a coach rumored to have a shady past and accepting the success that he has brought forth. Chanting the loud calls of C-A-T-S throughout gymnasiums across the land and enjoying the ability to once again be respected.

Coach Calipari and the career he has lived has been one hell of a ride, a bumpy ride that should become much smoother when the last time he has to participate in a vacation it is in the terms of permanency. A proclamation that appears feasible for the Man in Teflon.