"Coach 2" identity revealed

[Mike Mercury]

Rick Pitino is Coach 2 in FBI 'pay for play' investigation, law enforcement official says

The complaint paints Coach 2 as a central figure in the recruitment sting operation, which has rocked the University of Louisville men's basketball program and resulted in Pitino's suspension as head coach.

The revelation is significant because it reinforces the University of Louisville athletic department's deep ties to Adidas, likely allows the university to fire Pitino without paying the $46 million remaining on his contract and exposes him to criminal prosecution.

Pitino's attorney, Steve Pence, declined to comment when the Courier-Journal asked Thursday if Pitino is Coach 2. But he reiterated that Pitino did nothing wrong.

"(The criminal complaint is) a document drafted by the U.S. attorney's office," Pence said. "We anticipate cooperating with them — they can release the identities as they see fit."

The 28-page Justice Department complaint, unsealed in federal court in New York, says defendants claimed to have talked to Coach 2 about funneling $100,000 from an apparel company to secure a top recruit’s commitment.

The complaint says a defendant — Christian Dawkins, who works at a New Jersey-based sports management company — said he talked to Coach 2 and told him, "I need you to call Jim Gatto," the global marketing manager for Adidas who also has been charged and was subsequently suspended by Adidas.

An FBI agent said in a sworn affidavit that a review of phone records shows that on May 27, Gatto had two conversations tied to a phone number used by Coach 2. The complaint says on June 1, Gatto had a third conversation tied to the same number.

Two days later, the recruit — identified as high school All American Brian Bowen by the Courier-Journal — unexpectedly committed to the University of Louisville.

University of Louisville interim President Greg Postel said that the school knows the identity of Coach 2, but it has not disclosed that person's identity.

[DAB]

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