LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABC NEWS) – Embattled former college basketball coach Rick Pitino said he is "done with coaching," but hopes he will be remembered for training athletes "in an honest way," and not the scandals that plagued the end of his career.
"It's over for me, I know that. That's why I wrote this book," Pitino told ABC News' Robin Roberts of his tell-all new memoir "Pitino: My Story."
"I have to take responsibility for the things that have gone wrong," he added.
Still, "I don't want to hear, 'Disgraced Rick Pitino,' anymore," Pitino said.
"Because I coached in an honest way, got every ounce of perspiration I could out of every athlete I've coach for the right reasons, to make that athlete better," he said.
The Hall of Fame coach was fired from the University of Louisville approximately a year ago after an FBI probe accused the men's basketball team of being involved in an illegal recruiting scheme and alleged Adidas conspired to pay $100,000 to a young recruit to convince him to pick Louisville and agree to be sponsored by Adidas after turning pro.
In 2015, a separate scandal rocked the men's basketball program Pitino ran at Louisville, after allegations emerged that a member of his coaching staff paid prostitutes and strippers to perform for players and recruits on campus.
Pitino has denied knowledge of the alleged $100,000 payment and of the solicitation of prostitutes.
"This would happen four times a year, probably at one in the morning, behind closed doors," he said. "They didn't want anybody to know."
"It was hidden for a reason," he added. "Because it was reprehensible behavior."
"I wish I could have known. It would've been stopped immediately," he added. "The behavior would've been not only stopped, people would've been fired. And there would be a price to pay."
While Pitino says he takes "full ownership for everything that happened" when he was the leader of the program, he says he "had nothing to do with what the FBI put out there" about the alleged recruiting tactics.
Adidas declined to comment.
The University of Louisville declined to comment also on Pitino’s book.
“Because the university currently is in litigation with Mr. Pitino, we cannot comment on statements made in his book," spokesman John Karman told ABC News. "I can say that we are focused on moving forward with new university and athletic department leadership. We also are extremely excited about the future of our men’s basketball program under Coach Chris Mack. He has assembled an outstanding team, and we look forward to its success on the court in the coming season.”
Despite the controversy with Adidas, Pitino said he believes that collegiate-level athletes "should have a right to sell their images, to sell their likeness, go do a commercial."
"The Olympians do it," he added. "Why can't the college basketball player, or the college football player do it?
"The colleges are making the money and the NCAA is making the money. The athletes aren't making the money," he said. "I think every athlete has a right to sell their image."
While the end of his coaching career was marred by scandal, Pitino said he still believes his "legacy" is the players and assistant coaches he trained "who have gone on to ... great things."
Pitino said he wrote his memoir as "sort of a goodbye" to his "life in basketball."
It's "kind of sad in a way, but it's an ending," he added. "And I didn't want it to be the ending that was being portrayed, because it wasn't the truth."
