Expanding on the salacious details of her recent book, Katina Powell, tells Outside the Lines of on-campus parties at the University of Louisville with strippers and players receiving sex for money. In their first national interview, Powell and her two daughters who were involved in the “sexual recruiting tactics,” speak to OTL’s John Barr.
OTL reports that five women who attended those parties from 2010 to 2014 confirmed the dancing and four of the women also said that recruits and players had sex with some of the women. One of the former Cardinal players acknowledged having paid sex with a dancer, according to OTL’s reporting.
“Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen,” was published online Oct. 2 and is co-authored by Pulitzer Prize winner Dick Cady.
Asked by Barr if Louisville head coach Rick Pitino was aware of the more than 20 parties, Powell tells OTL: “This is my theory: Four years. A boatload of recruits. A boatload of dancers. Loud music. Alcohol. Security cameras. Basketball players who came in at will. You’ve got players that are so loyal to Pitino. Who wouldn’t go back and be like, ‘Hey, we’ve got dancers and sex and all that going on.’ My thing is how could he not know?”
Excerpts of the extended sit-downs debuted on ABC’s Good Monring America and the full piece premiered in a special 8 a.m. ET SportsCenter. Tuesday’s 1:30 p.m. Outside the Lines, hosted by Bob Ley, extends to a full hour for coverage of the story that includes confirmation from several former Louisville players and recruits about the on-campus gatherings arranged and paid for by the team’s former graduate assistant coach.
More from the interviews:
Katina Powell on how the parties unfolded: “Usually the girls would come out one by one and they would dance for the recruit. [Andre McGee, the graduate assistant coach] passed out the money, made it rain, made the deals, paid for the deals. …And he asked me, ‘Is there any girls that want to make extra money,’ pretty much a ‘side deal’ with the players? So I asked the girls (and) their eyes lit up like, “Well, yeah.
I just knew side deals were sex. Side deals were sex, and if they wanted to make extra money, that’s what the side deal was — sex.”
Daughter Lindsay Powell on the player she had a “side deal” with:
John Barr: “Do you remember who the player was that you did a side deal with?”
Lindsay Powell: “Russ Smith.”
John Barr: “How did it come about that you and Russ Smith had a sexual encounter?”
Lindsay Powell: “I believe that McGee came to my mom and said something to her about it. And my mom came to me and I was like ‘Okay.’ And we went in another room and we had sex.”
John Barr: “Do you remember how much you got paid for that?”
Lindsay Powell: “$100.”
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Contacts: David Scott david.r.scott@espn.com
Andy Hall andy.hall@espn.com
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