Pitino reported to be ‘Coach-2’
COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCANDAL
Ousted Louisville men’s basketball Coach Rick Pitino is “Coach-2” as referred to in the criminal complaint released Tuesday by the Justice Department, according to several outlets, including CBS News, ABC News and the Wall Street Journal.
If true, that would put Pitino in the middle of the investigation as a known party to investigators. In public statements, Pitino has denied any knowledge of the activity described in the federal complaint. Interim Louisville president Gregory Postel said Thursday that the university has been given enough information to determine who “Coach-1” and “Coach-2” are, but could not name them citing the ongoing federal investigation.
“Coach-2” is referred to in the criminal complaint a number of times, coming up in accounts of a July 27 meeting between two named defendants, Christian Dawkins and Winter Garden’s Jonathan Brad Augustine, and an unnamed “Coach-1,” described as an assistant from “University-6,” believed to be the University of Louisville.
The most damning allegation in the complaint says “DAWKINS then said he had spoken with Coach-2 about getting additional money for Player-10’s family and informed Coach-2 that ‘I need you to call Jim Gatto, (the defendant) who’s the head of everything’ at Company 1’s basketball program.”
Jim Gatto is the Adidas (Company-1) basketball executive named as a defendant in the complaint. “Player-10” is believed to be Louisville freshman Brian Bowen.
Louisville said Wednesday it removed a player from all team activities, but did not name him as Bowen.
In the complaint, Augustine is said to have stated about another player that “he expected Company-1 to fund at least a portion of future payments to Player-11 and/or his family because ‘no one swings a bigger d--- than (Coach-2)’ at Company-1, adding that ‘all (Coach-2 has to do) is pick up the phone and call somebody, (and say) these are my guys, they’re taking care of us.’ ”
Pitino and Louisville athletics director Tom Jurich were placed on administrative leave Wednesday in the wake of the federal investigation. It is expected they will both be fired in accordance with the due process in their contracts.
When asked Thursday about whether university officials know who “Coach-1” and “Coach-2,” are, Postel said “We believe that we know, yes.”
But Postel would not confirm media reports that “Coach-2” is Pitino.
“I think when [investigators are] prepared, they will probably continue to amend their documents and gradually replace some of the numbers with actual names,” Postel said. “But it’s not our position to do that, because they are their documents.”
Postel said the university is still aiming to name interim leaders for the men’s basketball and athletics departments soon, but declined to call the efforts a search stating that Pitino and Jurich had not been fired.