U of L trustee: We want to know the truth
Thursday held two events on the calendar that attracted some curiosity for those awaiting the next chapter in the fallout from Katina Powell’s book.
But both meetings were heavy on process and light on much else.
The supposed grand jury hearing in downtown Louisville for which Powell’s publisher, Patricia Keiffner, was reportedly subpoenaed ended up simply being a deadline for data and documents to be turned over.
Reporters and cameramen waiting for lawyers, detectives or any of the peripheral figures involved in the story who might testify to a grand jury were wasting time, an unidentified court staffer told the gathered media.
In the afternoon, U of L’s Board of Trustees held a special meeting, but citing confidentiality laws, they called an executive session and discussed “litigation matters,” chairman Larry Benz said, behind closed doors. A source told The Courier-Journal that the trustees discussed potentially hiring a public relations firm to help the school through recent turmoil.
But, Benz said, “There are no actions to be taken,” and he would not say if the trustees discussed Powell’s claims or the ongoing investigations into them, despite speculation that that was the main reason for the special meeting.
Benz, who was named the chairman of the trustees before this school year, said U of L is a billion-dollar organization and, as such, will always have ongoing litigation issues to discuss. He said the special session was called because he and other board members worried that switching from monthly to quarterly meetings left too much time between board discussions.
He said, to his knowledge, there is no open litigation involving U of L’s basketball program, but he would not say if the allegations laid out in Powell’s book – and the firestorm they have created – came up at all during the executive session. He also reiterated what U of L president James Ramsey recently said, that the board has had no discussions about men's basketball coach Rick Pitino and his job status.
Benz said he had no knowledge of any grand jury proceedings, either, when asked if anyone at U of L had been subpoenaed by the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office.
“To the question that's likely at hand, I have maintained to all of you two points: One is that we are committed to complying in every possible way. And secondly, we are seekers of the truth,” Benz said.
“We desperately want to know the truth of what happened as much as you do. And in fact, whether it be the NCAA, any law enforcement agency, or anybody that has jurisdictional matters over any allegations that occurred on this campus, we are committed to let those authorities do their work.”
Powell claims in her book, “Breaking Cardinal Rules,” that a former U of L basketball staffer Andre McGee paid her and other escorts, including her own teenage daughters, thousands of dollars and gave them game tickets in exchange for dancing for and having sex with players and recruits.
McGee’s lawyer, Scott C. Cox, said in October that his client knows Powell but denies paying anyone for any of the alleged illicit activities.
U of L, the NCAA and UMKC, McGee’s most recent employer, are all investigating Powell’s claims, as are U of L police and local authorities.
“We are the University of Louisville, and there is a lot to this university outside the spectacle of the attention that has been disproportionately given to what is likely, at best, a small subset of any population,” Benz said.
One reporter asked if Benz was concerned about the university’s image in the wake of recent events, a suggestion that irked the chairman.
“This is an institution that has 200-years-plus of prestige and history,” he said.
He later added, “The University of Louisville’s … track record exceeds any recent media event. We have historic research going on here. We have academic excellence. The reputation of the University of Louisville is profound ... We will let the public decide our reputation based on our track record.
“I can tell you that the folks we hear from -- our alumni base, our donors -- they want to talk about cancer research. They want to talk about graduation rate. They want to talk about our community engagement. They want to talk about what we're doing to further our progress and our upward trajectory and our entrance into the ACC and how it helps us.”