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Report: Pitino, Louisville respond to NCAA notice of allegations

Texas Southern v Louisville

LOUISVILLE, KY - DECEMBER 10: Rick Pitino the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals watches the action during the game against the Texas Southern Tigers at KFC YUM! Center on December 10, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

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Rick Pitino asserts he should not be charged with failure to monitor while Louisville argues it should not be subject to Level I NCAA punishment stemming from the sex scandal that was exposed at the school in 2015, according to documents obtained by ESPN.

“The enforcement staff has overreached in this case,” Pitino’s attorney wrote in the document that responds to the NCAA’s notice of allegations. “Pitino should never have been charged.’'

According to the NCAA notice of allegations, Pitino failed to monitor staff member Andre McGee, who allegedly hired escorts for recruits on visits to campus. In its response, Louisville argues it should be subject to less harsh Level I, mitigating, penalties rather than Level I because the activities did not have a major effect on its recruiting efforts nor did the level of benefit “equate to a large amount,” according to ESPN.

Pitino’s attorney wrote that the NCAA enforcement staff “has not identified one red flag that put Pitino on notice of McGee’s illicit activities.”

Louisville’s self-imposed sanctions include a scholarship reduction and an 2016 postseason ban.