Rick Pitino on alleged sex parties for recruits: ‘I don’t know if any of this is true’

Louisville basketball Coach Rick Pitino has denied having knowledge of the alleged sex parties for Cardinals recruits and players described by former escort Katina Powell in a book published earlier this month.

But in an interview with ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” that aired Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Powell asked, “How could Rick not know” what was going on at the wild parties she says took place in a campus dormitory from 2010-14?

Powell claimed in her book, “Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen,” that former Cardinals graduate assistant coach Andre McGee paid at least $10,000 for 22 parties that involved multiple female dancers stripping for and sometimes having sex with Louisville recruits and players.

“I said, ‘Does Pitino know about this?’” Powell told “Outside the Lines.” “And [McGee] said: ‘He’s Rick. He knows about everything.’”

McGee declined to comment to ESPN. Pitino called out his former assistant coach during a Tuesday morning conference call with ESPN and Yahoo! Sports.

“I don’t know if any of this is true or not,” Pitino said. “There’s only one person who knows the truth, and he needs to come out and tell the truth to his teammates, to the University of Louisville, to his fans and to his coaches that have taught him to do the right thing for years and allowed him to be part of something special here.”

“Outside the Lines” talked to five former recruits and players, all of whom remained anonymous but confirmed that such parties did take place.

The NCAA and Louisville are investigating the claims. The University of Missouri-Kansas City, where McGee is on paid leave as an assistant coach, is also conducting a review of the situation.