Pat Summitt diagnosed with early onset dementia, will coach Lady Vols this season

As someone in academia, the scariest things I can think of are diseases of the mind, and I can’t imagine it’s different for a brilliant basketball coach. Impossible to understand just how hard this must be for her, but she has the support of her Vol family!

I can’t begin to sort through my emotional response to this, but the one overwhelming thing I am feeling is anger.

and we can all be Pat Summitt fans for a while.

All our thoughts and prayers go out to her, her family and friends, and all of you.

on the issue

For a lady who has been the one constant in UT athletics to be diagnosed with something like this is just effing unfair. She’s a fantastic lady and representative of our university and my thoughts and prayers are with her. if anyone can fight this, it’s her.

I’ve seen this type of disease in my own family and it is just unfair for a person who has accomplished so much to have to fight their own brain to retain full control of what has been a remarkable life and should continue to be

with The Washington Post. Website is a little slow right now with earthquake traffic, but it’s a tremendous read.

There hasn’t been, and I doubt there could be, a stronger, smarter, or more capable representative for the University, the state of Tennessee or women’s athletics.

We love you Pat.

That woman is pure class and phenomenal at her job — this is terrible news.

My grandfather suffered from dementia late in life but it was post-concussion syndrome from 10 years in the facemask-less, leather-helmeted NFL.

is that there is now an end date to the Pat Summitt era — and we can see it coming. Something that has been so special to the whole state of Tennessee is ending and there is not a dang thing we can do to stop it. Man, I feel like punching something.

She’ll fight it with grace. That’s all the best of us could do.

As cocknfire put it so pointedly over on teamspeedkills

So don’t feel sorry for her, but take an opportunity over the next year or so to watch a legend in action. The only thing about this that seems remotely fair is that we will have a chance to say goodbye.

I use his words because I just can’t find my own to say.

And I don’t know if I ever will…..

and living on the other side of the world, it’s inevitable. This is probably the worst news I’ve woken up to, but I’m glad to first read your words, Will. I know how hard this must have been to write, because when I tried to comment about it on facebook, I could only manage a scant two sentences.

Dementia is, in a way, worse than death, as it kills the part of you that really counts. To repeat the above quote, at least we will have a chance to say goodbye. I only “met” Pat once, walking past her on The Strip. I was so in awe/shocked over her sudden appearance that I must have had quite the peculiar (and totally recognizable, to a celebrity) face. She flashed one of the brightest smiles I’ve ever seen and said, “Hello!” I stuttered for a moment before I finally managed a “Hi!” She had already passed.

I thought she would be with us for decades more; she just has that burning passion for her job. Of course, we were lucky to be the ones graced with her presence all of these years, but that will just make us miss her more.

Thats the elephant in the room, the degeneration.

As bad as this is, as much as it hurts for her, her family, her players, myself, we as fans….I don’t want her to become a 3 ring media spectacle with them telling us how horrible she’s doing when those days come.

We want…no …scratch that…we need to keep her accomplishments strong so the next generation has something to strive towards, to see the person who set the bar and the standard that they need to rise towards.

Anything else does not do her justice in the days yet to come

This is one classy lady, coach, and VOL. My prayers go out to her, her family, and all the fans out there.