Pat Kelsey sends condolences to late Louisville media member, victims of flood

Coming off of a win against Florida State on Saturday, Louisville coach Pat Kelsey didn’t start his press conference talking about basketball. Instead, he touched on a pair of far more important topics that had impacted the Louisville community.

Firstly, he addressed the recent death of Cardinals beat writer Ben Gumbel, who worked for Cardinal Sports Zone covering the men’s basketball team. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, Gumbel passed away on Feb. 19 due to a sudden illness. He was 28.

Kelsey began by letting the current media members know that he appreciates their coverage before offering his condolences to the Gumbel family.

“I value so much what you guys do in reporting on Louisville basketball,” he said. “You guys are all pros and you pour your heart and your soul into your craft. As we know, a member of your crew we lost this week in Ben Gumbel. Way too young at 28 years old. Somebody that loved what he did. I like to think, a guy who’s career was going (up) and just taken too early. My thoughts, my prayers and my condolences go out to Ben’s family.”

In addition to recognizing the loss of Gumbel, Kelsey also touched on the victims of the floods that have affected the state of Kentucky. A reported 21 people have died as a result of the severe weather, which has also resulted in several power outages and people having to evacuate their homes.

Pat Kelsey urged those listening to the press conference to donate to the state’s flood relief fund if they are able to do so, adding that the Louisville social media account had tweeted a link to do so.

“The other thing I wanted to address is obviously the disaster that’s happening right now in the state of Kentucky with all of the floods,” he said. “Again, my heartfelt prayers and condolences go out to the families of the victims of the 14 people that lost their lives in the horrible flooding.

“It’s just, talking to our team, just a reminder of how precious life is. In this state, although you have Kentucky fans and you have Louisville fans, there’s such pride in the state of Kentucky and in being a Kentuckian. We all mourn the loss of those people.”

Louisville (21-6, 14-2 ACC) is in the midst of a five-game winning streak and seeming to heat up at the right time with March Madness approaching. Kelsey is in his first year as the coach, having taken over a team that won just 12 game the two seasons perior combined.

It looks likely the Cardinals will be back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019 and that has resulted in a lot of attention for the program, and Kelsey used that to send an important message.