Louisville Paid "Escorts" To Help Recruit Bball Players

[Tugg Speedman]

MU's staff was confident Damion Lee would visit MU after Louisville.  He did not and instead committed to 'ville right away.  I guess 'ville must have blown him away!

Pitino 'shocked' by allegations of Louisville basketball sex scandal
By Gary B. Graves
Associated PressOctober 2, 2015 Updated 2 hours ago

http://www.kentucky.com/2015/10/02/4067859_pitino-jurich-to-address-allegations.html?rh=1

The University of Louisville said Friday it has launched an investigation into allegations that former Cardinals staffer Andre McGee paid an escort service to provide sex for recruits.

The allegations by Katina Powell are in an upcoming book, "Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen" from a publishing arm of the Indianapolis Business Journal. Some details of the book were published on the Journal's web site, and said that McGee hired Powell to provide strippers and prostitutes for recruits and some of their fathers during a four-year period.

"To say I'm shocked is an understatement," Pitino said during a news conference Friday. "You know the allegations. Now we have to find the truth."

Louisville issued a statement saying it learned of the allegations in August and immediately notified the NCAA. McGee left Louisville in 2014 to become an assistant at Missouri-Kansas City. The school did not immediately comment Friday evening.

Cardinals coach Rick Pitino said the situation caused sleeplessness when he first found out and said that he tried to conduct his own investigation before being rebuffed by the school's compliance office.

He said McGee denied the allegations in a brief conversation.

Louisville retained Chuck Smrt of the Compliance Group, which assists schools in NCAA cases, to review the claims.

"We're an open book. We want to get to the bottom of it," said Louisville Athletics Director Tom Jurich.

The Journal's summary of the book said that Powell brought women to 22 parties from 2010 to 2014 at Billy Minardi Hall, which houses Cardinals basketball players.

The woman said that she and three of her daughters, along with other women, danced and stripped for Louisville recruits and players and performed sex acts with them, according to the book.

McGee played for Louisville from 2005-09 and started 57 games during his career. He played professionally in Europe before becoming a program assistant in 2010 and was promoted to director of basketball operations in 2012.

Both Jurich and Pitino said they believe that money was the woman's motivation for writing the book. Powell was paid for the book, but said in an interview with the Journal that she felt it was important to tell the story. The publishing company said it paid investigators and Pultizer-Prize winning reporter Dick Cady to vet Powell's story, and based much of it on journal entries, photos and text messages.

The allegations come on the eve of Louisville's first Red-White scrimmage. The Cardinals reached the NCAA West Region final last season.

[rocket surgeon]

not shocked at pitino's shock...aren't the student-athletes so focused on the programs the school has to offer that anything else would be a distraction?  didn't think so

[HouWarrior]

Oh no baby, I cant accept that directly... just leave your signed Letter of Intent on the dresser.

PURRRFECT!...Now...Come over here and lick my Cardinal YumYum, baby.

[Benny B]

Louisville retained Chuck Smrt of the Compliance Group, which assists schools in NCAA cases, to review the claims.

https://www.youtube.com/e/tcGQpjCztgA

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

Once again The Onion nails it

http://www.theonion.com/article/furious-rick-pitino-adamant-media-trying-tarnish-n-51487

[rocket surgeon]

Once again The Onion nails it

http://www.theonion.com/article/furious-rick-pitino-adamant-media-trying-tarnish-n-51487

+++excellent!!

[Eldon]

MU's staff was confident Damion Lee would visit MU after Louisville.  He did not and instead committed to 'ville right away.  I guess 'ville must have blown him away!

Pitino 'shocked' by allegations of Louisville basketball sex scandal
By Gary B. Graves
Associated PressOctober 2, 2015 Updated 2 hours ago

http://www.kentucky.com/2015/10/02/4067859_pitino-jurich-to-address-allegations.html?rh=1

The University of Louisville said Friday it has launched an investigation into allegations that former Cardinals staffer Andre McGee paid an escort service to provide sex for recruits.

The allegations by Katina Powell are in an upcoming book, "Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen" from a publishing arm of the Indianapolis Business Journal. Some details of the book were published on the Journal's web site, and said that McGee hired Powell to provide strippers and prostitutes for recruits and some of their fathers during a four-year period.

"To say I'm shocked is an understatement," Pitino said during a news conference Friday. "You know the allegations. Now we have to find the truth."

Louisville issued a statement saying it learned of the allegations in August and immediately notified the NCAA. McGee left Louisville in 2014 to become an assistant at Missouri-Kansas City. The school did not immediately comment Friday evening.

Cardinals coach Rick Pitino said the situation caused sleeplessness when he first found out and said that he tried to conduct his own investigation before being rebuffed by the school's compliance office.

He said McGee denied the allegations in a brief conversation.

Louisville retained Chuck Smrt of the Compliance Group, which assists schools in NCAA cases, to review the claims.

"We're an open book. We want to get to the bottom of it," said Louisville Athletics Director Tom Jurich.

The Journal's summary of the book said that Powell brought women to 22 parties from 2010 to 2014 at Billy Minardi Hall, which houses Cardinals basketball players.

The woman said that she and three of her daughters, along with other women, danced and stripped for Louisville recruits and players and performed sex acts with them, according to the book.

McGee played for Louisville from 2005-09 and started 57 games during his career. He played professionally in Europe before becoming a program assistant in 2010 and was promoted to director of basketball operations in 2012.

Both Jurich and Pitino said they believe that money was the woman's motivation for writing the book. Powell was paid for the book, but said in an interview with the Journal that she felt it was important to tell the story. The publishing company said it paid investigators and Pultizer-Prize winning reporter Dick Cady to vet Powell's story, and based much of it on journal entries, photos and text messages.

The allegations come on the eve of Louisville's first Red-White scrimmage. The Cardinals reached the NCAA West Region final last season.

Blown away.

I see what you did there, Hberg. Subtle, very subtle.

[rocket surgeon]

     ...and always leave them wanting more

[WarriorInNYC]

And an update:

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/13927159/former-louisville-cardinals-basketball-players-recruits-acknowledge-stripper-parties-minardi-hall

[GoldenWarrior11]

Louisville and Pitino are both in BIG trouble.

What do Jim Boeheim, Jim Calhoun, Larry Brown, Roy Williams and Rick Pitino all have in common?  In addition to being hall-of-fame coaches, they all (will have) left their respective programs with monumental black eyes tarnishing their respective legacies.  Unfortunately for the schools, it will be their successors that will bear the weight of the punishments and consequences - not to mention the student-athletes that had nothing to do with them at all.

[Benny B]

Unfortunately for the schools, it will be their successors that will bear the weight of the punishments and consequences - not to mention the student-athletes that had nothing to do with them at all.

That is why schools need to be much more careful about who they hire.  It's as though these institutions have no regard for the trust their students, student-athletes, alumni, boosters, etc. place into the institution.

Sure, it sucks for the kids, but caveat emptor.  If you sign with slime, don't go crying when some gets on you.

[GGGG]

Why would Jurich say this?  Why would you say "absolutely did not know?"  Jurich doesn't know this. 

https://twitter.com/ericcrawford/status/656496756629241856

[Jay Bee]

Guess we're stuck with Mormons, a'inal?