Written by Myron Medcalf at ESPN.c0m
During his time with Louisville, the Cardinals basketball coach Rick Pitino has survived multiple scandals.
In 2010, he testified in a federal extortion trial involving Karen Sypher, who went to prison after trying to get money and gifts from Pitino in exchange for silence.
In 2015, the NCAA launched an investigation into a sex-for-pay scandal organized by former Louisville assistant coach Andre McGee that could force the Cardinals to vacate their 2013 national title and dozens of victories. For that, Pitino will serve a seven-game suspension this season. This all came after the school, hoping to soothe the NCAA and temper the sanctions, self-imposed a 2016 NCAA tournament ban.
Despite all this, Pitino kept his job.
But what was revealed Tuesday, if true, seems insurmountable.
The FBI arrested four prominent college basketball assistants from Oklahoma State, Auburn, Arizona and USC following an investigation surrounding a corruption scandal. Documents from the investigation cite an arrangement between an unnamed Louisville staffer, high-ranking Adidas official James Gatto and others to funnel $100,000 to the family of a recruit who committed to the university over the summer.
“Shortly after the agreement with the family of Player-10 was reached in late May and early June, Player-10 publicly committed to University-6,” the documents from the FBI’s investigation stated. Louisville revealed Tuesday afternoon that it is the unnamed “University-6” named by the FBI.
“[Louisville] is committed to ethical behavior and adherence to NCAA rules,” interim president Gregory Postel said in a statement addressing the FBI’s investigation. “Any violations will not be tolerated.” Pitino is not named in the federal documents. But he’s the sullied leader of a program in the FBI’s crosshairs.
If the FBI’s allegations are validated, Louisville has only one option: Remove Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich.
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