Evidence suggests Rick Pitino was 'aware and supported' recruiting scheme, Adidas say

per WDRB:

Adidas has asked a federal judge to dismiss former University of Louisville men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino’s lawsuit against the apparel maker, arguing evidence suggests Pitino was “both aware and supported the scheme” to pay players.

Pitino sued Adidas in October and claimed he was damaged by the company’s “outrageous conduct in conspiring to funnel money to the family of a college basketball recruit.” The FBI is leading a federal investigation into college basketball recruiting that was made public in a criminal complaint in September.

But Adidas contends that Kentucky law "does not permit an unindicted co-conspirator" to recover damages, and the company cites the criminal complaint as indicating Pitino was involved.

The evidence cited by Adidas against Pitino from the complaint includes allegations that the former coach was asked to call an Adidas executive, James Gatto, to get more funding for a recruit. And the company points out that Pitino allegedly called Gatto three times before the recruit announced his commitment.

The criminal complaint "includes allegations suggesting that he (Pitino) was both aware of and supported the scheme," according to the Adidas response.

"... Proof of Pitino's involvement in the scheme, whether directly through phone calls to Gatto shortly before a key recruit committed to UofL, as alleged in the criminal complaint, or indirectly through the actions of staff would defeat Pitino's" outrage claims, the response says.

http://www.wdrb.com/story/36931581/...das-says-in-court-filing#.WhwqEyjU3HM.twitter

Go Gophers!!

Wouldnt this guy also have been the Adidas rep for Louisville? Pitino could have been calling for more apparel or different designs. Who knows. Would be very hard to prove these phone calls were about money to a recruit.

Maybe it wasnt actually Rick. Maybe it was someone with the same name who sounds like him on the phone.

Of course he was. He's an obsessively meticulous leader of an organization that generates tens of millions in revenue, yet only has about 15 significant people in it. I would imagine he knew just about everything that went on with Louisville basketball. As does our coach about Minnesota basketball.

fmlizard said:

Of course he was. He's an obsessively meticulous leader of an organization that generates tens of millions in revenue, yet only has about 15 significant people in it. I would imagine he knew just about everything that went on with Louisville basketball. As does our coach about Minnesota basketball.

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Exactly. Coaches have been trying to sell this "I didn't know" narrative for decades whenever they get caught. It's crap.

fmlizard said:

Of course he was. He's an obsessively meticulous leader of an organization that generates tens of millions in revenue, yet only has about 15 significant people in it. I would imagine he knew just about everything that went on with Louisville basketball. As does our coach about Minnesota basketball.

Click to expand...

Agree that he knew. I am saying that these phone records prove nothing, unless they have audio recordings.