Pitino settles lawsuit with Louisville
The University of Louisville Athletic Association and Rick Pitino settled lawsuits stemming from his departure from the school, with the former men’s basketball coach’s personnel file changing his termination to a resignation. He received no money in the settlement.
Pitino sued the ULAA for more than $38.7 million in November 2017, accusing it of breaching its contract by firing him for cause the previous month in the wake of a federal bribery investigation of college basketball. Louisville countersued, seeking monetary damages for vacated games and bonuses. The agreement comes a week after representatives for the association and Pitino held settlement talks at the federal courthouse that included the coach.
In a statement issued yesterday through lawyer Steve Pence, Pitino said he was moving on “to a new chapter in my life.”
“Against my lawyer’s advice I’m dropping my lawsuit with ULAA,” Pitino said. “I am very proud of the many accomplishments my teams achieved at Louisville. I’m so thankful and honored to coach such dedicated athletes. I’m also disappointed in how it ended. But as head coach I am held responsible for the actions of all team members.”
Champions opens
Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City succeeded where storied rivals failed in their opening Champions League games.
Even with its star forwards absent, PSG eased to a 3-0 win over 13-time European champion Real Madrid, which missed the influence of suspended defender Sergio Ramos.
The French champion relied instead on Angel Di Maria, the former Madrid winger, who scored twice with smart, first-half shots that quickly settled the outcome.
Man City also was ruthless and efficient in winning 3-0 against Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine.
Wins for two wealthy clubs with burning ambition to get a first European title came as the traditional Champions League powers struggled this week.
Of the nine clubs to have played in the final since 2011, only Bayern Munich won this week — also by 3-0 against a Red Star Belgrade team that had to come through four qualifying rounds . ...
The Women’s World Cup champion United States team will wrap up 2019 with matches against Sweden (Nov. 7 in Columbus, Ohio) and Costa Rica (Nov. 10 in Jacksonville, Fla).
Texas school bans
The University of Texas at San Antonio introduced a new policy this semester prohibiting students with a confirmed history of violence or sexual abuse from joining athletic programs.
Students who have been convicted, pleaded guilty or no contest to such crimes, even as a juvenile, will be banned from school sports teams, the San Antonio Express-News reported.