Report: Former Louisville recruit confirms escort allegations to NCAA
In a meeting with an NCAA investigator on Tuesday, Ohio State freshman and former Louisville recruit JaQuan Lyle confirmed the recent allegations that escorts were hired to dance and have sex with Louisville players and recruits, Gary Parrish of CBS Sports reports.
A source with knowledge of the investigation told CBS that Lyle “told the truth.”
The NCAA and Louisville campus police are investigating the allegations that appeared in a book written by Katina Powell titled Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen. In the book, Powell writes that she was paid $10,000 by former Louisville basketball staff member Andre McGee to provide escorts for recruits and players between 2010 and 2014.
Lyle is mentioned in an entry of the book that describes four escorts coming to Louisville while Lyle was visiting.
“Been a long time since we’ve been up to U of L to do a show,” Powell writes. “McGee texted me like, what’s up? He wanted me to bring three girls up there for a new recruit named JaQuan Lyle, he and his friend. I took (escorts) Rod-Ni, TooTall, Jazmine and Shay, who calls herself Sammi. TooTall made $100, Shay made $100, and Jazzy made nothing because she did absolutely nothing.”
Lyle verbally committed to Louisville in 2013, but de-committed a few months later. He committed to Ohio State in June.
• NCAA investigating Louisville over sex claims in escort’s book
Lyle’s meeting with the investigator was confirmed by Ohio State spokesman Dan Wallenberg, who said there were no problems involving Ohio State.
“It does not affect us or JaQuan at all,” Wallenberg said to Yahoo! Sports. “We’ve been told, and are pretty confident, this is not something we need to worry about.”
Head coach Rick Pitino has said that McGee, who coaches at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and has been placed on paid leave, denied the allegations. Pitino also denies any involvement or knowledge of the situation.
- Erin Flynn
