Rick Pitino said Wednesday a sex scandal involving a woman accused of
trying to extort millions from him has been "pure hell" for his family,
fuming that newly released video of her police interview revived her
"total fabrication."
Pitino spoke at a hastily called news
conference hours after Louisville police released audio and video
recordings of phone calls and an interview with Karen Cunagin Sypher,
the woman at the heart of the scandal. Pitino has told police that he
had sex with her six years ago.
Sypher claims in the interview that
Pitino sexually assaulted her, an allegation she brought to police
after she was accused of trying to extort millions from the coach. She
has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of extortion and lying to the
FBI.
The coach lashed out at the media for
again reporting on her accusations by airing clips of the interviews
Wednesday. Prosecutors did not pursue charges against the coach.
"Everything that's been printed,
everything that's been reported, everything that's been breaking in the
news on the day Ted Kennedy died is 100 percent a lie, a lie," Pitino
said. "All of this has been a lie, a total fabrication of the truth."
The 56-year-old married father of five, who's a Roman Catholic, said the scandal has taken a heavy toll on his wife and family.
"It has been pure hell for her and my family," he said.
"I admitted to you I made a mistake, and believe me I will suffer for that mistake," he added.
Pitino's remarks were his first
public statements since a five-minute apology two weeks ago for an
"indiscretion" with Sypher at a Louisville restaurant in 2003. Sypher
later told Pitino she was pregnant, planned to have an abortion but did
not have medical insurance. He told police he gave her $3,000, money
his attorney Steve Pence said was for insurance, not an abortion.
Pitino had planned to stay mum and
let the case go to trial when he says "the truth will come out." Pitino
didn't discuss details of the case at the news conference and said his
lawyer had advised him not to speak out at all.
Instead, he opted to come forward after local television aired portions of Sypher's interview.
"Enough's enough, everybody is tired
of it," Pitino said. "We need to get on with the important things in
life like the economy and really some crucial things in life like
basketball."
Pitino has kept a low profile since
his apology, focusing on preparing the Cardinals for the 2009-10
season. He was involved in individual workouts on Wednesday, and
updates on the Twitter pages of several players indicated nothing
except another series of grueling drills.
As his news conference was carried
live on television in Louisville, at least one station split the screen
with Pitino talking the left, and the police video of Sypher on the
right.
The video released under the
Kentucky Open Records Act shows Sypher sitting across a table from
Louisville Police Sgt. Andy Abbott. A full transcript of the interview
was released by police earlier this month.
Sypher wasn't accompanied by a
lawyer at the time of the videotaped interview. An attorney who was
later appointed to represent her, James Earhart, said before Pitino's
remarks that the release of the police video has no bearing on the
federal case.
Included in the release of audio and
video by police were a series of telephone messages left for Sypher by
Pitino. Most of the calls are brief, with him leaving his name and
asking for a call back.
In one message, though, Pitino alludes to the "very unfortunate situation."
"It's not something I can decide
on," he says on the message. "I think the best thing in all scenarios
is to go through with it. But, that has to be your call because
(inaudible) … I'm a high profile person … I can't really give you
any advice on this…"
It's not clear from the recording,
parts of which are inaudible, what decision he's referring to. Sgt.
Robert Biven said the recordings were provided to police by Sypher.
In an interview with police that was
not taped but was summarized in a police report, Pitino said the
encounter with Sypher was consensual. Police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley
said Pitino's interview wasn't taped because his attorney accompanied
him to the interview.
Federal prosecutors have asked U.S.
District Judge Charles Simpson to order a psychological exam for
Sypher, saying she may not be competent to understand the proceedings
against her or assist in her own defense in the extortion case.
Sypher's attorney had not responded to that request as of Wednesday.
Pitino said Louisville would continue to be a Top 10 program despite the scandal.
"It has not hurt recruiting one bit. We will still bring in Top 10 players," he said.
Pitino finished his eighth season
with the Cardinals, leading them to a 31-6 record and the Big East
regular-season and tournament titles. The Cardinals lost to Michigan
State in the regional finals of the NCAA tournament.