Fansided

Louisville basketball staffer allegedly paid for sex for players, recruits

By Cody Williams

March 22, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Terry Rozier (0) runs past head coach Rick Pitino against Northern Iowa Panthers during the second half in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
March 22, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Terry Rozier (0) runs past head coach Rick Pitino against Northern Iowa Panthers during the second half in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KeyArena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /
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New allegations say a former Louisville basketball staff member paid for escorts to entertain players and recruits

The Louisville Cardinals basketball program could be in line for serious penalties as the university is investigating shocking allegations made in a new book. The school is looking into allegations that a former member of the basketball staff was paying for escorts to entertain players and recruits over a four-year timespan.

These claims are made by Katina Powell, the woman who says that she was the madam who provided the Louisville staffer and team with the escorts, in her soon-to-be-published book “Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen.”

The staff member in question is Adam McGee, who played for the Cardinals and was a graduate assistant for the Cardinals from 2010-12 before taking the post as director of basketball operations from 2012-14. The allegations regarding McGee and the basketball program are, without question, alarming.

Powell states in her book that she would bring women into the basketball dorm on campus or an established off-campus location and the escorts would dance for the players and recruits for a baseline fee. After the dances were completed, the negotiations for the women to have sex with the players and recruits would then be negotiated. Powell alleges that this was such a frequent occurrence that she was being paid $10,000 for the women just to dance, plus the negotiated fees for sex after the fact. Horrifyingly, Powell said her involvement with recruits was so widespread that she felt like she “was part of the recruitment team.”

There’s no way that you can look at these allegations and not absolutely be appalled and it only gets worse the more that’s revealed. However, there’s nothing more shocking than the fact that Powell’s own daughters were part of her group of women that she brought to entertain players and recruits.

The implications of these allegations are equally as staggering. Not only could McGee and others possibly face legal action considering the nature of the alleged behavior, but this also was supposedly happening during the Cardinals’ NCAA Championship 2012-13 season. With that type of money and benefits being given to athletes and recruits, it’s foreseeable that the program could be stripped of that title.

As stated, there are currently no penalties being handed down from the school or the NCAA as the university is still in the process of investigating. You also have to believe that the surfacing of these allegations means an NCAA investigation is soon to come. Even if only half of what Powell alleged is true, though, there are some serious consequences coming Louisville’s way.

H/T to Yahoo! Sports

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