Well, for once it wasn’t a Twitter post that started a huge controversy with an athlete. It was just the little ol’ lead of this LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER story on Kentucky basketball, in which Wildcats beat reporter Jerry Tipton noted that forward Patrick Patterson drove to Wednesday’s Blue-White game in a brand new, rather expensive truck.
Forgive Reggie Bush if he’s unimpressed. But folks in Kentucky are sure talking about it. And Patterson’s mom is more than a little P.O.ed. Was Tipton’s lead written to provoke controversy? (Heaven forbid!). Or was it an innocent observation? By the way, Patterson’s mom says the report isn’t even true.
Tipton’s lead in today’s HERALD-LEADER:
Patrick Patterson drove to Rupp Arena for Wednesday’s Blue-White Game in his new Lincoln Mark LT. The black truck was not the only difference for Kentucky’s big man.
“I’ve got a new game to go with my new car,” he said. “I’m trying to show the new areas I’m working on.”
Then, this:
For Patterson, the fun figured to continue as he climbed in his new black truck and drove away.
“He just gave in,” Patterson said of his father finally fulfilling his pleadings for a new vehicle. “I’m ecstatic.”
I didn’t see that graph about his “father finally fulfilling his pleadings” the first time I read the story. Perhaps I just missed it … or perhaps Tipton added it later. Anyway, Tipton has somewhat of a reputation for stirring controversy. It’s hard to believe that he didn’t realize that mentioning a college player with a brand new Lincoln Mark LT would be like poking a hornet’s nest.
Patterson’s mom was not amused. From KENTUCKY SPORTS RADIO:
Interesting story right? The problem is that according to Patterson’s mother, it is not true. I spoke this afternoon to Tywanna Patterson who said that Patrick didn’t drive to the game in the truck or drive home afterward, instead riding with his parents to dinner after the game. She also said that Patrick’s new truck isn’t even kept primarily on campus and was a gift from his parents that will be kept primarily in Huntington.
Patterson’s mother was upset at Tipton’s comments on the truck and said, “I just don’t appreciate him making false statements and comments. When he first interviewed me, he misquoted me about OJ Mayo when Patrick was in high school. I just wish he would stop doing that.
“I just wish he would report on the game and not things that didn’t happen.”
Have we heard the last of this? Um, no. For one thing, NCAA officials are at this moment raising their heads like deer who just heard a loud noise in the woods.
Sample comment on KENTUCKY SPORTS RADIO message board:
I’m guessing that Tipton heard that PP got a new truck and assumed he drove to the game in it and then he took liberties and made up a story to go with that assumption. Tywanna (my new heroine) called that hack out. –BigBlueFan
5:45 pm on October 29th, 2009
Chase Daniel had a Mark LT all throughout college, nice set of rims on it too
5:46 pm on October 29th, 2009
Mommy wasn’t amused because 99% of the rational people know most folks can’t afford that…not to mention a college kid. I have a college degree!!!, and can’t afford most automobiles that start with the word “Lincoln”.
7:01 pm on October 29th, 2009
Let’s just face it. A lot of college athletes are being paid or given free gifts…now, Chase Daniel did come from a wealthy community, so that could probably be explained. But, let’s not act like these guys go to every class and eat ramen noodles for dinner.
7:04 pm on October 29th, 2009
Maybe you should have gotten a more useful degree… or done a better job selling yourself into the market place. In my line of work, I routinely see 20-22 year old kids pulling in 60-100k in bonuses for 2-4 year contracts on top of their salary. Without a degree.
Cheers!
11:34 pm on October 29th, 2009
It was a totally fabricated story…Lexington Herald-Leader has already called the Mother to apologize for false reporting by Tipton…bottom-line…he made-up the story!
8:25 am on October 30th, 2009
Why don’t all of you finger-pointers do your best impression of woodward & bernstein and actually dig around a bit to find out who paid for it? Just because 99% of people can’t afford one doesn’t mean anything. just remeber, simply because PP is from WVA mean nothing; there’s lotsa $ in them thar hills!
8:44 am on October 30th, 2009
typical
12:48 pm on October 30th, 2009
I lived in Lexington for a while, and I can tell you, first hand, this program is crooked. I am not saying that there is any program that is successful that isn’t crooked, but having worked at Paul Miller Ford in Lexington, you can rest assured, this is NOT a new occurence. The rub doesn’t only apply to D1, I saw it as a freshman at a D2 school as well.
2:37 pm on October 30th, 2009
ANONYMOUS:
Your an idiot. Read what you said. I used to be your boss and I know your lying out your a..! Not true but anyone can get on here and say anything. Leave a real name or shut up!
5:59 pm on October 30th, 2009
We pay tons of money for the coaches to advertise for us, we would not ever give an active student athlete anything that would hurt our relationship with the university. I can tell you however that the M.A.P. group that owns Toyota on Nicholasville and Lexue of Lexington gives new a new Lexus to all McDonald’s Recruits parents who attend U of L. MAP group is owned by Pitino.
5:37 am on October 31st, 2009
Anyone find out what his parents’ careers are? If he’s going to college on an athletic scholarship, it’s not much of a stretch to think his parents could afford that for him. I live in Arkansas and I have friends going to graduate school that drive brand new Cadillacs and BMW’s that were given to them by their parents, and their parents are teachers and nurses.
12:17 pm on October 31st, 2009
I go into bank and say next year there is a 80% chance I will make $3M per year. 99% chance I will make more than $1.5M in my job I can get in Europe. Can I have $50K? They will give me the loan, why is this so hard for people to understand?