In memoir, former Herald-Leader reporter Jerry Tipton gets the chance to tell his story

After spending 41 seasons covering the Kentucky men’s basketball program for the Herald-Leader, Jerry Tipton was a figure well-known to many fans.

But they might be surprised to learn something new about the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Famer who retired in 2022 in his new memoir, “Deja Blue: A Sportswriter Reflects on 41 Seasons of Kentucky Basketball.”

“I never forgot a Marshall journalism professor telling students it was never good if a reporter was the story,” Tipton wrote in the book. “So, I tried to accept any criticism and keep it out of the story.”

Tipton does not shy away from the reputation he developed as a thorn in the side of UK basketball in the memoir, relaying multiple anecdotes of clashes with coaches and players over a story or question that was not well received. At one point, he lists himself among the villains associated with the program during his tenure at the Herald-Leader and includes an entire chapter on his propensity for asking difficult questions.

But in the age of the internet, Tipton’s work was rarely judged in a silo. The line about advice from one of his Marshall professors comes before his recounting of one of the more memorable examples of that dynamic: his rebuttal to John Calipari’s criticism of a question about the FBI investigation into college basketball that he had the right to ask what he wanted because it was, “media day, not coach day.”

“I became identified with that statement,” Tipton wrote.

In his memoir Tipton finally gets the chance to push back on the perception of his reporting as unfair to UK, outlining his respect for the program before he came to Lexington and explaining his motivation for asking questions that might be perceived as difficult was simply to add more context to his stories.

Many of Tipton’s most memorable stories merit mention in the book.

His reporting of NCAA rules violations attributed to Rick Pitino as an assistant at Hawaii when Kentucky was interviewing Pitino for its head coaching job is examined. He reconnects with Tubby Smith about their clash over a story concerning allegations of fraud against Kelenna Azubuike’s father while Azubuike was playing at UK. Tipton addresses the criticism he received for a pointed question to Kellan Grady about his shooting struggles after the 2022 NCAA Tournament loss to St. Peter’s — the last game Tipton covered before retiring.

While UK fans might be surprised to learn Tipton told former Wildcat Mike Pratt he would hire John Calipari as coach in 2009, it is the section of the book that details Tipton’s life before covering Kentucky that might offer them the most insight into him.

As a student at Marshall, Tipton was tasked with covering the most difficult story of his career: the plane crash that killed 37 football players, eight coaches and 25 boosters. He learned an early lesson about the importance of impartiality while covering a bowling scandal for the Huntington Herald-Dispatch.

Had Tipton’s career began today in an era where reporters are encouraged to “build a brand” by showing personality and offering a glimpse into their personal lives on social media, perhaps his desire to stay out of the story would have changed. Fans are unlikely to ever be happy about a journalist who reports bad news about their team, but Tipton’s reputation as a villain might have been lessened if some of the stories in his memoir were better known while he was still working.

Instead, “Deja Blue” offers the chance for Tipton to finally be at the center of the story.

“Message board postings included saying I was the Wildcats’ ‘biggest enemy’ and a ‘biased reporter who has an absolute vendetta against UK and Calipari,’” Tipton wrote. “That wasn’t true. I just wanted to write good stories and keep readers informed as well as possible.”

Tipton will celebrate the launch of his memoir in a public event at the Carnegie Center in Lexington on May 14 from 5-7 p.m. The book will be available in bookstores after the launch. It is currently available for purchase on Amazon.com and the website of publisher Acclaim Press.