The NCAA and Louisville police have a decision to make in regards to the allegations of paid sex by a former staffer for recruits and players.
Do they want to really find out what went on in those Louisville dorm rooms, or would they like to prosecute a mom that promoted prostitution and even involved her then underage daughters?
Katina Powell, the woman at the center of the Louisville basketball sex/escort scandal, might not talk to the NCAA. She wants protection from possible criminal punishment, and that’s not guaranteed, according to CBS Sports.
Katina Powell, whose self-described cash-grab memoir unveiled myriad allegations against the University of Louisville, will not assist the NCAA unless she’s granted criminal immunity. This according to her attorney, Larry Wilder, who said as much to Louisville’s ESPN 680 Tuesday. Powell will not be of service “unless we have assurances that there will not be a pursuit of criminal charges against her, based upon the information,” Wilder told 680.
The factors at play here that put Powell, potentially, in legal crosshairs involve underage women using their bodies to sell sex. Powell’s two daughters — who appeared alongside Powell on “The View” last week — were part of an escort troupe in Powell’s employ.
Powell said on national television last week her daughters “brought their selves into the situation” in late 2013, more than three years after she first made agreements for stripper parties for Louisville players and recruits with former Louisville men’s director of basketball operations, Andre McGee.
Rod-ni Powell is on record saying she slept with former Louisville star Montrezl Harrell for “$100, maybe a little more.” Lindsay Powell claims she once had sex with another Cardinals player, beloved guard Russ Smith. Powell’s information could potentially be the linchpin for the NCAA’s investigation, as she has kept financial records, text messages with McGee, photographs and supposedly other pieces of key evidence.
ESPN.com is also reporting members of the NCAA’s investigation unit have been on campus this week to interview current Louisville players.
Powell claimed on “The View” she first went to the NCAA with her story and information, and that the NCAA wound up not giving her “any assistance.”
The NCAA and authorities would still have her book, but without any testimony, it would be hard to prove that Rick Pitino or anyone pertinent to the program, had any knowledge of the late night sex romps.
The NCAA had no comment.
By Glenn Erby
