Pitino: 'Not one person knew' of alleged escorts for players

Louisville head coach Rick Pitino once again emphatically denied allegations that he knew anything about former director of operations Andre McGee allegedly providing escorts for recruits and players.

Pitino told Dana O'Neil of ESPN on Monday that not one person in the organization was aware of the situation.

"Not myself, not one player, not one trainer, not one assistant, not one person knew anything about any of this," Pitino said. "If anyone did, it would have been stopped on a dime. Not one person knew anything about it."

Pitino then added that Louisville is working with the NCAA in the investigation.

"The university, as well as the NCAA and our attorney, is doing its due diligence to get to the bottom of this investigation,'' Pitino said.

Regardless of whether Pitino knew what was going on or not, he could find himself suspended. Under the NCAA guidelines, coaches are responsible for what goes on around their programs whether they were directly involved or not.

Syracuse's Jim Boeheim and SMU's Larry Brown will also serve suspensions this year under the rule.

NCAA vice president of enforcement Jon Duncan clarified the rule in a conversation with ESPN on Monday.

"It's a rebuttable presumption," Duncan said. "If there is a violation it's presumed that he is responsible, but that can be rebutted in one of two ways - that he created an atmosphere of compliance and two, that he monitored his direct and indirect reports."

Louisville opens its season on Nov. 13 against Samford.