The Louisville basketball program is under serious scrutiny after a new upcoming book alleges that a former Cardinals staff member paid escorts to dance for and have sex with several players and recruits from the program.
Yahoo Sports obtained an advance copy of the book, “Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen,” which is being published by IBJ Book Publishing of Indianapolis. The book is written by a former Louisville resident, Katina Powell, who describes herself as a madam, with the help of a journalist.
Powell identifies former Cardinals staffer Andre McGee, who is now a coach at Missouri-Kansas City, as the man with whom she dealt in making all the arrangements.
Here is a transcript from the book, via Yahoo:
“At the peak of the dormitory and off-campus entertainment more than $10,000 cash changed hands to Katina for supplying the women. This does not include the hundreds of one dollar bills thrown at the dancers at each party by McGee, the recruits and players. Nor does it include the money paid to the women who had sex with the recruits afterward. So frequent were the escapades that Katina would later say, especially after the Cardinals won the 2012-2013 NCAA championship: I felt like I was part of the recruitment team. A lot of them players went to Louisville because of me.”
McGee was a graduate assistant for the program from 2010-2012 and later director of basketball operations from 2012-2014.
Louisville head coach Rick Pitino is appalled by the allegations and said McGee denied the accusations.
“To say I’m disheartened or disappointed would probably be the biggest understatement I’ve made since I’ve been a coach,” Pitino said. “I’m heartbroken.”
The allegations in the book put Louisville’s 2013 national championship in jeopardy because the NCAA could view this as players receiving impermissible benefits. Coach Pitino could also face penalties from the NCAA for a lack of institutional control if the allegations are proven to be true.
