John Calipari’s daughters have their dad’s back – even taking on ESPN analyst Jay Bilas to do so.
Megan and Erin Calipari both took issue Tuesday on Twitter with their father being included in a photo that accompanies a story by The Oregonian about the illegal actions of former Adidas employee T.J. Gassnola.
Gassnola is a witness in the government’s investigation into corruption in college basketball, to which the Kentucky coach has not been linked. Kentucky is sponsored by Nike. In the photo, Calipari can be seen talking to coaches on his left – including current LIU Brooklyn coach Derrick Kellogg, then at UMass. Gassnola is behind them in the center of the photo.
The caption explains the picture with the story headlined: “Basketball bribes: How Adidas bankrolled a black market for top teenage talent.” The caption, however, is not visible on social media.
Bilas shared the story on Twitter and was met by pushback from Calipari’s daughters.
Megan Calipari replied to the post by writing: “So you’re telling me this is the only picture available of him? This picture. Where he is not even in focus but my dad is? Do better @Oregonian”
Erin Calipari took greater issues with Bilas after he told Megan to “Read the article, Or, have someone read it to you. The Oregonian isn’t out to get you.” Erin wrote back that he was coming with “the (fire emoji) sexism” and they not only read but “write books and manuscripts for a living.”
Erin went on to write that she did read the article that did not mention her family but still included a photo of her dad.
“I would love for you to start putting random people as the cover photos for all of your articles. @MeganteCalipari and I have some great headshots we can provide,” she wrote.
While John Calipari has not been linked to the current investigations, he has had Final Four appearances at UMass and Memphis vacated over NCAA violations involving star players Marcus Camby and Derrick Rose, respectively.
Megan looked to defuse the situation on Wednesday as other on social media defended John Calipari.
“Hi everyone! Can we move on,” she wrote on Twitter, “The article was great. The picture wasn’t great. Trying to get people to see your point of view by insulting them isn’t helping or productive.”
