LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Louisville coach Rick Pitino has been involved in a series of embarrassing incidents since 2009. Below is a chronology of episodes the Hall of Famer has had to explain:
August 2009
Pitino admits to police that he had sex in 2003 with Karen Sypher, the ex-wife of former staffer Tim Sypher, on a restaurant table. Sypher was charged with trying to extort money from Pitino to keep their tryst secret and convicted in July 2010 and was released from released from prison this past July.
February 2015
Louisville senior guard Chris Jones was dismissed from the team just before his arrest for rape and sodomy of two women in a campus dorm. A grand jury declined to indict Jones and two other men in the incident.
Oct. 2, 2015
Escort Katina Powell alleges in a book that former Cardinals staffer Andre McGee hired her and other dancers for sex parties with Cardinals players and recruits from 2010-14, with most of the activities occurring in the team’s dormitory. Pitino denied knowledge of the activities described in Powell’s book and criticized McGee’s conduct. Multiple investigations follow, including ones by Louisville and the NCAA.
Oct. 20, 2016
The NCAA accuses Louisville of four violations in the sex scandal and Pitino of failing to monitor McGee.
June 15, 2017
The NCAA Committee on Infractions penalizes Pitino and Louisville for the sex scandal and calls the activities “repugnant.” Pitino is suspended for five Atlantic Coast Conference games. Louisville received four years’ probation and is ordered to return shared conference revenue and vacate up to 123 victories in which ineligible players participated. That could cost Louisville its 2013 NCAA title. Pitino and the school appeal the penalties on Aug. 15.
Sept. 26, 2017
Louisville acknowledges involvement in a federal investigation of alleged bribery of recruits. The federal complaint does not mention Pitino, who says in a statement that “These allegations come as a complete shock to me.”
Sept. 27, 2017
Louisville places Pitino on unpaid administrative leave , but his attorney Steve Pence tells the Courier-Journal that the coach is “effectively fired.” Athletic director Tom Jurich also placed on paid administrative leave.
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