Louisville suspends coach Chris Mack for first six games of upcoming season for breaking school rules

Louisville’s noisy offseason continued Friday, because the college introduced it has suspended males’s basketball coach Chris Mack for six video games to begin the 2021-22 season. 

Mack’s suspension comes within the aftermath of one of many extra stunning plot twists in faculty basketball from the spring: an extortion attempt against Mack by former Louisville assistant Dino Gaudio. Gaudio threatened to go to the media and expose wrongdoing in Louisville’s program after Mack knowledgeable Gaudio he was firing him. Unbeknownst to Gaudio, Mack was recording their dialog, which enabled extortion prices to be levied. 

“The college concluded that whereas Mack was a sufferer of an extortion try by former assistant coach Dino Gaudio, Mack didn’t observe college pointers, insurance policies, and procedures in dealing with the matter,” the college mentioned in its assertion. “The sanctions imposed upon Coach Mack are unrelated to the extortion try itself and the continuing NCAA course of.”

On Friday, Sports activities Illustrated published a transcript of Mack and Gaudio’s meeting that peels again on Gaudio’s calls for, asking to be paid till September of 2022, so he can earn cash till he decides to retire. Mack tells Gaudio he can pay him out of his personal pocket if that helps. 

Mack’s dealing with of Gaudio and that scenario violated college pointers, in keeping with the college, although all particular guidelines that had been damaged by Mack haven’t been disclosed. Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra met with the media on a teleconference Friday afternoon and mentioned Mack violated college phrases by not having a human assets worker current when he fired Gaudio and, previous to that, former assistant Luke Murray. 

Tyra additionally reaffirmed that Louisville is presently underneath investigation by the NCAA for the alleged guidelines violations Gaudio referenced in his dialog with Mack, particularly utilizing graduate assistants as apply gamers and movies for recruitment. 

Mack will probably be suspended from Nov. 8-27 and won’t be paid whereas he serves the punishment. Louisville has not but launched its full schedule for the forthcoming season, so it isn’t publicly recognized which video games Mack is not going to be teaching in. He’ll for positive miss Louisville’s journey to the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship on Nov. 25 and 27, which is an occasion that has Louisville enjoying Mississippi State after which both Richmond or Maryland. Louisville additionally has nonconference video games — with dates not but disclosed — scheduled towards Navy, Furman and Detroit. 

“In the course of the suspension, Coach Mack is prohibited from having any contact with the lads’s basketball teaching workers or student-athletes,” the college mentioned. “Because the suspension is with out pay, Coach Mack will forfeit roughly $221,000 in compensation.”

Stated Mack: “I remorse that any of my unintentional actions or failures to observe college pointers have introduced pointless consideration to our excellent athletics packages and College. I perceive that I might have dealt with issues in a different way and due to this fact I settle for this suspension. Whereas it should kill me to be away from our basketball household in November, I’ll do the whole lot doable to set them up for achievement earlier than and after my time away, and I’m totally assured that our coaches, workers and student-athletes will rise to the event.”

Gaudio, who pled responsible to extortion, was sentenced Friday to at least one yr of probation and a $10,000 nice. His case went to court docket on account of the Louisville police forwarding the incident to the FBI. As he gave Gaudio his sentence on Friday, the judge said, “I stay puzzled why we’re even right here on a federal felony at the moment? This can be a unusual felony prosecution in my remark.”