Lute Olson's Leave of Absence

WFW

 

Lute and the UA system don't come across well here. Life is not a straight line, divorce is a challenge, but it looks like he stole several hundred thousand dollars from the state of Arizona this season. I thought only federally bailed-out failed house flippers were allowed to do that.

 

That's not necessarily true. The gag could have been mutually negotiated.

 

Lute has 9 bazillion dollars in the bank and the doctor conveniently ordered him to work out at the McHale Center, where many of his players just so happened to be working out as well. Riiiiiiiiight.

 

Right, but why? What reason would there be for Lute to be so secretive about this if he was just taking time off because of stress? And why would the university care if Lute talks about his own medical condition? The whole thing just doesn't hang together.

 

Lute, your wife died of cancer and you handled that well. You couldn't handle splitting up with your much-younger new one. I guess coaching a mediocre team isn't an excuse.

On another topic, I thought you didn't get paid anyway when you're on medical leave. Besides earned vacation and sick time. Lute scammed the state in taking a year off.

But maybe Lute's hair was under stress. I'd believe that line if he needed it.

 

If I remember correctly from researching this w/ something else, Lute was able to use the "stress" medical leave pretty much as long as he came back to the school.
On the legal side of it, whether it is stress or cancer, many states are required to give medical leave (which trumps right-to-work codes).
On the PR side of it, Arizona would much rather keep Lute under contract and on the sidelines. Giving him a season to "recharge" his batteries is probably a good move, one that most UA boosters will gladly help fund to keep him around for a few more years.

If he would have retired, he likely would have had to pay the school back for the time he missed and still received paychecks.

 

Olson now says O'Neill won't be back at all next year (in the previous story, he seemed to leave the door open).
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3324436

Seems like O'Neill's the real loser in this whole story.

 

Yep . . . let the morons run up and down the floor brainlessly with their tongues hanging out.

First-round losers.

That's the Lute we know and love.

O'Neill in a casket is a better coach than Lutie.

 

Anybody watch Olson's "I'm back" press conference? He kept calling one of the beat writers "Columbo." Olson didn't come off very sympathetic.

 

Good recruiting class coming in, too . . . but he's never met high expectations. He's at his best sliding in under the radar. That's what he did when he won it.