Rick Pitino is denying any and all knowledge of the stripper and sex parties his Louisville Cardinals program is accused of running, and he is putting the onus on former staff member Andre McGee.
In a conference call with ESPN and Yahoo held Tuesday, the Louisville basketball coach said the NCAA, which is investigating the matter, advised him not to speak. However, Pitino said he wants McGee, now a coach at the University of Missouri- Kansas City, to come forth about the issue.
“There’s only one person who can speak on this matter, and that’s Andre McGee,” Pitino said via Yahoo’s Pat Forde. “He owes it to his teammates, coaches and the university to tell the truth. The truth has got to come out, and it can’t just be to the NCAA. He’s the only one with any answers.
“Whether it’s true or not, I don’t know. … Obviously by what people are saying, something did go on, but there’s only one person who knows the truth. Everything else is absurd. I don’t care about the legal issues. If he’s done something wrong, he has to own up to it and do his penance.
“We know on the other end of the book, this is all about money. People will say and do anything for money. If these things are not true, and I keep using the word if, only one person who can give these solutions to these problems. … This is not only an NCAA issue here. It’s more than that. There’s more to it. His teammates that believed in him, his coaches that believed in him, the community that believed in him, put our trust in him to do the right things. If he’s done the wrong things, he needs to own up to it. If he hasn’t, he needs to say it’s a lie.”
McGee, who was on the Louisville staff from 2010-2014, first as a graduate assistant, is currently on paid administrative leave from UMKC. Katina Powell, the self-described madam who wrote a book detailing the parties she says she was hired to provide female entertainment for, says McGee was the point man in setting it all up. She says he paid her thousands of dollars to have women dance for Louisville players, recruits and even family members of the recruits, and to also have sex with them.
As we previously detailed, McGee, who also played for the Cardinals, was a strong presence within the program. He hired legal representation, and his lawyer already had a harsh response to Powell.
