Rick Pitino apologizes for publicly criticizing St. John's players, takes all the blame: "I have failed them'
Rick Pitino's St. John's basketball squad snapped their three-game losing streak with a 90-85 win at Georgetown on Wednesday, and the coach used his time with the media to apologize for his hot-headed comments following the team's loss last week.
“These guys have never failed me,” Pitino said via The Athletic. “I have failed them with the fundamentals.”
Following the team's loss to Seton Hall on Feb. 18, their eighth in 10 games, Pitino exploded in front of the media, heavily criticizing his coaches, his players (some by name), the facilities and pretty much everything else he could think of. He called several players slow, faulted the coaches for poor recruiting, and said his time as coach at St. John's was the "the most unenjoyable experience of my life."
But three days after he made those comments, Pitino told the media he offered his team a full mea culpa.
“I said to my staff, 'Any of the guys upset?' They said, 'A couple of feelings are hurt,'” Pitino said via the New York Post. “I immediately went [to talk to] the team, and told them I absolutely love you guys, I would never, ever want to embarrass you. But it’s my bad; I’m at fault.”
He took responsibility for singling players out in front of the media.
“I should never, ever mention a name," Pitino said. "I’m a veteran coach. l tell every young coach in the business: Show class when you win; show class when you lose; give the other team credit."
He clarified that he was responsible for recruiting, not his coaches.
“I’ve been really, really frustrated this year for a lot of different reasons. But understand something: I recruited this man [Jordan Dingle], I recruited this man [RJ Luis]. My staff did not recruit these guys. It was all me. It was all me, and I’m really, really proud to have them. I totally apologize to them for doing that. I wasn’t ripping them. That wasn’t my intent. But words matter.”
Pitino even offered an apology to the fans.
“I want to apologize to any St. John’s fans, because they’ve treated me like royalty.”
Dingle told The Athletic that he and the rest of the team still support Pitino, and they believe he fully supports them despite what he said.
“We know how much he loves us and cares about us, and how much he cares about winning, so I don’t think guys really took it too much to heart," Dingle said.
St. John's next game is at home against No. 15 Creighton on Feb. 25.
