Ex-Louisville G Smith asks NCAA to reconsider scandal ruling
In an open letter to the Courier-Journal, former Louisville guard Russ Smith, a member of the Cardinals' 2013 national championship team, asked the NCAA to reconsider the punishment it handed down Thursday in response to the program's escort scandal.
The NCAA ordered Louisville to vacate up to 123 victories between December 2010 and July 2014, which includes the team's Final Four appearance in 2012 and national title in 2013, and suspended coach Rick Pitino for the first five contests of the 2017-18 ACC schedule. Louisville announced it will appeal the decision.
"Just so the fans of U of L and the people who follow basketball know, I strongly believe the truth will come out and I still have faith the NCAA will take a closer look at the situation at hand and not penalize any of my brothers or recruits or young men who were minors at the time because of deceitful adults who had separate intentions," Smith wrote. "This is embarrassing for many of us, including our families, our close friends, and our fans who saw everything we went through in order to achieve that goal."
Smith, who's had brief stints in the NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies and spent this season in the D-League, acknowledged the seriousness of the scandal, but pleaded with the NCAA not to strip the school of its records:
"College is a place where things happen, where young adults open wrong doors and see things maybe they shouldn't see or meet people on campus who have no intentions of being a student on campus," he said.
" ... No one condones hookers or prostitution. In the city of Louisville, I've seen women chase some of my teammates and including myself when I was pretty popular. We did not have any attraction or interest in any of Ms. Powell's shenanigans, especially paying.
"As for the recruits, in my personal opinion, maybe front-office action or penalties should be required for an incident like this, or the adults in the situation should be brought to justice, such as Mr. McGee or Ms. Powell. McGee is and will always be a close friend of mine, but even in this instance, I feel he would agree that this accusation is between him and his friend, Ms. Powell."
Smith also defended Pitino, referring to him as a mentor and calling him a man of honesty and integrity.
"My coach has taught me many life lessons, and the truth is one of them," he said. "He cooperated entirely with the NCAA and he will do anything and everything in his power to keep the dignity of our university, demand justice, and refuse to sell his soul."
Smith's full letter can be found here.