A Louisville jury convicted Karen Sypher Thursday of extortion. After the verdict, her son confronted the prosecutorial team and said "Thanks for taking my mother away, guys."
But really, there was no choice. The evidence against her was overwhelming and like everyone else, she is responsible for her actions.
The sad part about this case -- well, one of the sad things about this case -- is that, like the Duke lacrosse case, the woman made fraudulent accusations which will make it harder for other women who have legitimate cases.
No one should have any doubt that there are sexual assaults committed everyday all across this country and every country. Yet this country has probably come further than most in dealing with it and finding a reasonable balance between empathy and justice.
Sypher's misdeeds cost her dearly and will cost her children more. In particular, she is going to lose being part of her daughter's childhood.
It's a terrible price to pay and even the jurors were concerned about it, but they had to do their duty and they did.
As for Pitino, the Louisville athletics director said he would continue to be an ambassador for the school. Well, maybe. He was of course the victim in this case, but he put himself, his family, his team and his employers in a horrible situation. For the rest of his career, people will go to recruits and their families and remind them of this case and of Pitino's behavior. It's possible that he may rise above it all, but it's going to be hard to forget.
This is one of those things that you will read about at whatever point his obituary is published. He'll never leave it behind.
One of the people who's thankfully missed out on most of the attention is Mrs. Pitino. This woman has sacrificed a lot for her husband's career -- he famously with their honeymoon to accept a job, and she has reportedly been unhappy with several of the family's moves. One hopes that she finds some sort of peace with all of this.
- Sypher convicted, son: "she didn't get a fair trial"
- Sypher juror: 'We had to do what was right by the law'
- Rebuilding job is ahead for Rick Pitino after Karen Sypher trial
- Verdict: Jury finds Karen Sypher guilty on all six counts
- Tom Jurich reacts to Karen Sypher Verdict
- What people are saying about the Karen Sypher trial
- Key Quotes from Karen Sypher Trial
- Sypher testimony won't affect Pitino's job, Jurich says
| The DBR App! |
| The Next Step For DBR |
| DBR Is On Twitter! (DBRTweetz) |
| Blue Devil Tip-Off! |