Katina Powell will meet with NCAA about Louisville allegations
Former escort Katina Powell will meet with the NCAA next week regarding allegations in her book Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen claiming that a former Louisville men’s basketball assistant hired her and other women to strip and have sex with players and recruits during parties.
Her lawyer, Larry Wilder, told the Associated Press that Powell will meet with the NCAA as part of the investigation. She is expected to provide documents, including her personal journals and phone records, to prove her claims.
Powell alleged that from 2010-14 former assistant Andre McGee paid her $10,000 to arrange 22 visits to the players’ dorm.
Due to the possibility of criminal charges against Powell and the publisher of the book, Wilder said “it is no longer in her best interest to forgo meeting with the NCAA and sharing all of the demonstrative evidence.”
On Monday, five women filed an amended civil complaint against Powell, author Dick Cady and publisher IBJ Book Publishing. The women cite the unauthorized use of their photos, two of their first names, and stage names as reasoning for the lawsuit. The women also claim that Powell falsely implied that they participated in prostitution at the parties.
Head coach Rick Pitino has firmly denied that he had any knowledge of the incidents Powell described in her book. McGee, who was employed as an assistant at UMKC when the book was published, has since resigned from his position.
Five former Louisville basketball players told ESPN’s Outside the Lines that they had been in attendance at the dorm parties and that they included strippers McGee paid for. Only one former player admitted to having sex with one of the women.
The NCAA, local authorities and the Louisville athletic department continue to investigate Powell’s allegations.
The Cardinals are set to open their season on Friday against Samford.
- Xandria James
