Pitino weighs in on WakeyLeaks, defends Jurich

Asked for his thoughts on Louisville's involvement in the Wake Forest football leaks scandal, U of L basketball coach Rick Pitino offered a lengthy defense of athletic director Tom Jurich, who has taken heat this week for his initial statement on the leaks.

(Jurich has since issued a new statement, announcing the suspension of co-offensive coordinator Lonnie Galloway, the Louisville assistant coach at the center of the Cards' role in the leaks.)

Pitino said Jurich, who hired him in 2001, has the "most integrity," saying Jurich doesn't solely focus on winning.

"(With) Tom, it's the right thing first," Pitino said.

Here's the full transcript of Pitino's comments on so-called #WakeyLeaks ...

"Basketball's a lot different than football because, you know, you see football coaches on the sideline hiding their mouths," Pitino said, "whereas you see us on the sideline go, 'Thumb up!,' and they're going, 'Yes, it's going inside!' It's a lot different in basketball, so there's not the espionage that there is in football. That being said, you have a responsibility to not only your team but other teams. Those athletes at Wake Forest, they were turned on by that radio person. It's not about giving some other team information; it's about turning on the athletes who work all week to try and get a victory. You owe to the athletes to do the right thing. No matter what grudge you have, that's a terrible thing that that announcer did to those Wake Forest athletes.

MORE WAKE FOREST LEAKS COVERAGE
►Jurich suspends U of L OC Lonnie Galloway
►Sullivan: Jurich just needs an editor, not exile
►Jurich: Cards received Wake Forest plays
►Were any rules broken in Wake leaks scandal?
►Wake QB's dad concerned for son's safety

"That being said, here, I posed it to my own staff. I said, 'What if somebody called us up and said they saw a Kentucky practice and they're working on a 1-3-1 zone and a 3-2 zone?' It's too late to say, 'I don't want to hear that,' in that situation. But this was obviously a lot different. It was transmitted information. It doesn't really happen at all in basketball because football's totally different. They're looking to get every little edge on every little play.

"The only thing I will say about the situation here - it's wrong what that announcer did. It's a terrible, terrible thing, what he did. It's a terrible, terrible thing what Andre McGee to our program. And sometimes you don't know why. A grudge is not enough to take that away from all the Wake Forest athletes. You've got to bury your grudges. He's going to have to ask forgiveness from a lot of people.

"When you have thousands of press conferences, you are going to say the wrong things from time to time. There's no way around it. That being said, all I can tell is this: I've worked with the man now for 16 years. Tom Jurich has the most integrity. There's three ADs I've worked for in my lifetime: Lou Lamoriello, C.M. Newton and Tom Jurich. Those three people, I hold on the highest pedestal for integrity. When this breaks, Tom Jurich told me with our problem, he said, 'If one person lies, they are gone. Finished. If you find anybody lying in this, Coach, whether they're a player, assistant coach or anybody, they're gone immediately. We're not going to think about it.' Tom is not about - I mean, every AD wants to win - but Tom, it's the right thing first.

"He gets up at a press conference and he's going to take ownership of that, and he may come across the wrong way in the eyes of people. Like the thousands of press conferences I've had, I'm sure I've come across the wrong way. That being said, the man, the thought behind it, is not what came out in that press (release). Tom Jurich is all about integrity, is all about doing the right things, is all about honor. He has said to me numerous times, 'Coach, you tell the truth in any situation, I'm backing you 100 percent in that situation, but we've got to have the truth.' If someone doesn't tell him the truth, there's going to be major consequences to pay in that regard.

"All I can tell you is ... I love these people who live in glass houses, who say, 'Oh, there's no way Lamar (Jackson) should ever be considered a Heisman Trophy candidate' who has never put on a football pad in his life and they say something like that. And then Lamar stands up there with that Heisman Trophy, which we celebrate greatly today. But these athletic directors today have a tough, tough job, because what the athletes today do and don't do, and watching them, it's a difficult world. Parenting today is a difficult world. It's so hard because of social media and what access they can get about things.

"So, all I can say is, from Tom's standpoint, the man will do the right things. He's always about doing the right things. He's about honor and integrity. I've watched him as a dad, as a leader, an athletic director. I've had private meetings with him. It's never once, 'Let's cover this up. Let's not do that.' It's always, 'Let's put it out there.' Now, he may not have put it out there the right way in his tone or whatever it may be. But he said, 'Let's put it out there. Let's take ownership of it. We've got a problem. Let's look it square in the eye and let's solve it. The man to me, like C.M. Newton and Lou Lamoriello, I never thought I could put another man on the same level, and Tom Jurich is right there with them.

"So, I don't what's going to become of this. I don't have enough knowledge of it. What that radio person did is extremely wrong. If we've done things wrong, or Virginia Tech has done something wrong or Army has done something wrong, everybody's got to take ownership of it, because they owe it to the athletes at Army, Virginia Tech and whoever they're playing against. The athletes are the ones putting the work on the field."