The press box is no place for Steve Kragthorpe's wife

By Colin Dunlap | 1:41 p.m. Sunday

Something I need to get off my chest from the game coverage yesterday in Morgantown.

There was something that bothered me, something that happened that, well, frankly, shouldn't.

Ever.

Steve Kragthorpe's wife, Cynthia, sat in the press box at the West Virginia-Louisville game at Mountaineer Field.

Not in a private booth, not in a secluded area, but in the rows of seats just behind the writers. For logistical purposes, and to explain fully, the writer's portion of the Mountainner Field press box has two rows of seats, one lower row against the windows, the other elevated, above it.

Mrs. Kragthorpe sat in one of the four seats -- in the second row -- normally designated for the visiting media relations contingent and, in reality and literally, was looking right over the shoulder of the writers from the Louisville media outlets. One of the other four seats designated to Louisville was occupied by the school's assistant media relations director, Rocco Gasparro, who is tremendous at what he does. The other two seats were occupied by people I did not know.  

Back to the issue: This was a toxic situation waiting to happen and one that should never have happened.    

Ever.

Did we not learn anything from Colleen Bellotti coming into the press box? If you are unfamiliar with that story, read this: LINK

The men and women -- like myself -- who have a job to cover these teams should be granted one piece of real estate that serves as a sanctuary from everything else: The press box. We earned as much, we deserve it. If you expect objective, non-biased reporting, we expect an atmosphere free of the wife of a coach sitting right behind us.

The particulars of how she got there really aren't important -- was West Virginia at fault? Was Louisville at fault? Were both schools at fault? Who knows; doesn't matter.

I do know this much -- it was a beautiful day in Morgantown, and I am quite positive coach Kragthorpe gets at least one comp ticket to away games. Mrs. Kragthorpe, had she not been invited or chosen to, sit in a private box designated for Louisville's top brass, should have sat in a seat, outside.

In the end, nothing came of Mrs. Kragthorpe sitting there but a few claps when a Louisville receiver caught a touchdown that would, eventually, be called back by a penalty.

As such, her clear violation of the "no cheering in the press box" rule didn't bother me as much as the thought of what could have happened. Everyone knows it hasn't been an easy season for Steve Kragthorpe. Heck, he even made a light-hearted reference to Jon Gruden (rumored to be a candidate for the Louisville job if Kragthorpe is fired) at a press conference last week.

Even so, and probably more so because of the current situation of Louisville's season, it isn't fair to any reporter -- especially those who cover that Louisville team every day -- to show up for work, in their work space, and be greeted by the wife of the coach sitting behind them.

You might think, "No big deal, nothing happened."

I would disagree.  

Something happened, something that should have never happened.