In an interview with Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio, Katina Powell, co-author and central figure of the book “Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen,” spoke of her time providing adult entertainment to the Louisville men’s basketball team.
The majority of the 38-minute interview focused on the allegations put forward in the book, which details Powell’s four years with the Louisville men’s basketball team and its recruits. Her account, along with a subsequent investigation by college-athletics consulting firm The Compliance Group, led to Louisville announcing a self-imposed postseason ban last week.
Powell reiterated to Jones that she received $10,000 from former director of basketball operations Andre McGee for attending and bringing fellow dancers, three of whom were her daughters, to 22 separate “parties.” Powell went on to tell Jones that after being paid up front by McGee, he instructed her to go into a dorm room, change and wait for a party to start. She also still contends that McGee told her that Louisville Coach Rick Pitino knew of the operation.
She also confirmed that Chane Behanan, Montrezl Harrell, Wayne Blackshear, Russ Smith, Chris Smith, Terrence Jennings and George Goode attended “parties” frequently and that Peyton Siva attended on a single occasion.
She went on, stating that an unidentified individual, referred to as “Coach Mike” contacted Powell, requesting “white girls” with “big butts and big breasts” to go along with several other lurid requests regarding the women. When asked about what the normal audience looked like at the parties, she said it would depend on the party whether or not recruits were in attendance.
The move by Louisville to self-impose the postseason ban has been criticized by many for punishing players not involved with the scandal. The investigators have yet to interview Pitino as of today.
You can listen to the full interview here.
Credit to the Washington Post who originally published this article
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
