By Russ Brown
Special to NKyTribune
LOUISVILLE–Don’t expect any more comments from Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino about the sex scandal that has suddenly cast a pall over the program.
That was the word from Pitino following the Cardinals’ Red-White intrasquad game Saturday, their first public appearance in the wake of bombshell allegations in a book by an escort.
“I really just concentrate on basketball,” Pitino said. “When any type of adversity hits, the strong survive. The only way you can be strong is to immerse yourself into work. Idleness — I’m not sure idleness is the devil’s workshop — but idleness makes the mind wander and you don’t think of great things.
“The best thing I can do is immerse myself and just work, work, work until I pass out.”
He said he won’t read the book. Pitino had addressed the matter during a hastily-called press conference late Friday afternoon after revelations in the book had become public. At that time, Pitino told reporters that the accusations made him “sick to my stomach” and that “my heart is really broken.”
Saturday, Pitino said he has instructed his players not to talk about it and added that the current players had nothing to do with the charges.
“We told them it’s not your concern, and I’ve been told to coach basketball and not do anything else,” Pitino said. “Not get involved in this.”
UofL and the NCAA are investigating allegations in Katina Powell’s book, “Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen,” that then-Cardinal basketball staff member Andre McGee paid for escorts to come to the players’ dorm, dance, strip, and have sex with recruits and players.
The 104-page book was published by an affiliate of the Indianapolis Business Journal and is scheduled for release on Oct. 12, although the publisher said it could be sooner.
McGee left Louisville in 2014 to join the staff at Missouri-Kansas City, which has placed him on paid administrative leave. McGee left for UMKC when Kareem Richardson, who was also a UofL assistant, took the job after the 2013-14 season.
Richardson issued a statement Saturday saying the matter is “a serious concern.
“We all need to allow the process to run its course without interference,” he said.
Meanwhile, Anthony Schoettle, a sports reporter for IBJ, wrote in a blog that he had “grilled” Powell in late September and that Powell told him she is certain Pitino knew about the arrangement.
“Sure,” Schoettle quotes Powell as saying. “How can it be going on for four years, that many people be involved and that many people see what’s going on and Rick Pitino doesn’t know anything about it? You have players that are very, very loyal to Pitino. And if they thought anything was wrong or anyone was going to get in trouble, I’m pretty sure they would have gone back to report to Pitino. What I would ask Andre, ‘Does Pitino know about this?’ He would laugh and say, ‘Rick Pitino knows about everything.'”
Pitino has denied having any knowledge of the situation.
McGee’s attorney, Scott Cox, told The Courier-Journal that “(Powell) is a (prostitute). She is interested in making money,” apparently insinuating that she has made up the stories.
Asked by Schoettle if she was publishing the book for money, she replied:
“Are you asking me if I just did it for money? If my biggest goal is money? If a person asked me to do it just to tell my story, I probably would have said no. I can’t say it or explain it without sounding greedy. I don’t know how to answer that. I do want to get away from this type of life.”
She added that she can’t be sued “for telling the truth” and that she sometimes worried about the safety of her and her three daughters, who were involved in the dancing and sex.
“You have some diehard Louisville fans,” Powell said. “You have people who love Rick Pitino. Love Pitino. So you have some people that are going to be very angry. And I don’t put anything past people.”
Powell, who said she has three grandchildren, claimed she has stopped escorting and started a transportation company.
Russ Brown has covered University of Louisville athletics for over 30 years, including 15 for The Courier-Journal in Louisville. He is senior writer/editor for the Louisville SportsReport, which he helped found, and also writes for Cardinalsports.com.