LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) – The University of Louisville has released their response they sent to the NCAA concerning the Katina Powell allegations.
Their response was sent to the NCAA on Jan. 17 after the NCAA found Rick Pitino failed to monitor Andree McGee. Louisville was charged with four level-one violations in the NCAA's notice of allegations but the one they've disputed from day one is that Rick Pitino failed to monitor Andre McGee.
McGee is accused of supplying prostitutes for players and recruits while he was the director of basketball operations. Powell claims she was paid thousands in cash by McGee to provide sex services for players and recruits.
In the response, UofL says Pitino cooperated fully with the NCAA’s investigation. UofL claims the NCAA enforcement staff had to struggle to uncover the alleged actions of McGee.
UofL says, in their response to the NCAA, that McGee’s actions were well kept from Pitino. They say many who lived in the dorm where the strippers performed did not even know what was happening and the people that were paid to watch the dorm, when Pitino could not, did not know about the strippers.
UofL claims that one man told NCAA investigators that he kept McGee’s illicit activities from Pitino because he did not want McGee to get in trouble and go to jail. Other men, that were investigated, lied to investigators about their knowledge of the strip shows at the dorm. In order to get the men to talk about what they knew, UofL claims, NCAA had to request and obtain limited immunity to the men.
According to UofL, some men that the NCAA investigated were embarrassed about their experience with the strippers and “did not want other to know…” UofL’s response goes on to say that investigators were also told the men did not tell Pitino about the strippers because they were worried about jeopardizing NCAA eligibility and they knew it was wrong.
The University says it disagrees with the NCAA about the coach, they said Pitino fostered a culture of NCAA compliance and exercised appropriate supervisory oversight of McGee. The University and Pitino also spell out reasons why they believe McGee’s actions went undetected in their ‘response documents.’
In the Initial Response of Rick Pitino, his attorney cites a report that shows security cameras frequently did not work in Minardi Hall and then calls out a security guard for sleeping on the job, allowing McGee to make his move. A statement from the Initial Response of Rick Pitino said a Minardi resident told investigators "McGee always brought the strippers in to the dorm late at night after the RA was off-duty and the security guard "would usually literally be asleep at the door."
Pitino's statement says Powell told investigators she and the strippers came through a side door of Minardi Hall, one that would trigger an alarm. Those at UofL say there were three keys that could disarm that alarm, and the University's response documents suggests McGee may have had one of those keys. "A men's basketball staff member living in Minardi possessed the third key until the policy changed in the fall of 2015,” read one statement.
Pitino’s response said it was McGee who had that key.
Those with the University said McGee's activities would not have been detected by any reasonable monitoring practices.
The documents also showed an interview between McGee and U of L's Chief investigator Chuck Smrt in September 2015, before Powell’s book, Breaking Cardinal Rules was released. The UofL response outlines how McGee and the book's author knew each other: “McGee was asked ‘who is Katina Powell?’, and he responded that she was a ‘friend of mine.’”
There was also a back and forth over the allegations where McGee denies it all, Smrt asking,“Did you ever arrange sex for prospects when they came on a visit?” and Andre McGee responding with “Absolutely not.”
NCAA has 60 days to review this response.