Rick Pitino’s Coaching Career Likely Over After Evidence Supports Louisville Escort Scandal

With an overwhelming amount of evidence coming to light from every direction, it is safe to say the Louisville Cardinals could realistically become the sixth collegiate school to receive the NCAA death penalty. If that were no bad enough, it is hard to imagine Louisville basketball head coach Rick Pitino will be able to keep his job after five former Louisville players and recruits admitted they partied with strippers and escorts paid for by former Louisville player, graduate assistant and director of basketball operations Andre McGee.

Two and a half weeks ago when an escort named Katina Powell published a book titled “Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen” that details how Louisville hired her escort service to persuade recruits to sign with the school, Pitino acted as shocked as anyone about her claim.

“To say I’m disheartened, disappointed would be the biggest understatement I’ve made as a coach,” Pitino said at the time.

As much as anyone associated with Louisville would like to believe Pitino had no knowledge of what had occurred on campus, the reality is every single coach is fully aware of every little detail that goes on with his or her team. For that reason, it is nearly impossible for Pitino to not have a suspicion of McGee hiring escorts and strippers to perform for recruits.

Powell admitted she had no evidence to support that Pitino understood what had occurred, but all signs point to him aware of the situation.

“Four years, a boatload of recruits, a boatload of dancers, loud music, alcohol, security, cameras, basketball players who came in [to the dorm] at will …, ” Powell said, according to ESPN’s Outside the Lines.

Not to mention, Powell went on one record to say that McGee confirmed Pitino’s knowledge of how the school would land recruits.

“I said, ‘Does Pitino know about this (the parties)?’ And he said, ‘He’s Rick. He knows about everything.'”

According to Powell, she and countless other women, including three of her daughters, were hired for 22 parties at Louisville from 2010 to 2014. Over that span, she made over $10,000 for sexual acts and bringing women to the parties.

One former player told Outside the Lines he had sex with a stripper after McGee paid the dancer cash. Another former player said McGee “would give us the money, just the recruits. A bunch of us were sitting there while they danced. Then the players left and the recruits chose which one [of the dancers] they wanted.”

Powell kept a journal, text messages and phone records to support her claim just in case the school attempted to say she lied about what had occurred. That alone could be enough to give the NCAA all the power to crush Louisville’s basketball program.

Michael Terrill is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelTerrill, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.