College basketball | Louisville coach Pitino reportedly tells police he gave woman money for abortion

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino told police he had sex with a woman accused of trying to extort him of $10 million and later paid for her abortion, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

The Courier-Journal of Louisville reported on its Web site that Pitino told police he had been drinking in a Louisville restaurant and had consensual sex with Karen Sypher in August 2003.

The police report said the 56-year-old coach denied allegations by Sypher that he raped her after the restaurant closed and at another time somewhere else.

Pitino said he later gave her $3,000 for an abortion, according to the police report.

Sypher reported the sexual-assault allegations to police last month, but a Kentucky prosecutor said the complaint wouldn't be prosecuted because it lacked supporting evidence.

Sypher, 49, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of lying to the FBI and trying to extort money from Pitino, who is married.

About two weeks after meeting Sypher at the restaurant, Pitino told police that she called, told him she was pregnant and that he had to be the father. Pitino told her when they met again that he had five children and she had four, and that he didn't know what he wanted to do, according to the report by Sgt. Andy Abbott, commander of the sex-offense unit.

Pitino said Sypher told him she was going to have an abortion but didn't have health insurance, so he gave her the money, according to Abbott's report.

Pitino's lawyer, Steve Pence, said the story is about Sypher and not his client.

"Karen Sypher is indicted for extortion," Pence said. "The commonwealth's attorney has said she is void of any credibility on these 6-year-old allegations she has made."

Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich said in a statement that "Coach Pitino has been truthful with us about this matter all along and we stand by him and his family during this process."

The newspaper cited Louisville Metro Police reports from an investigation into Sypher's rape accusations. The newspaper obtained the records under the Kentucky Open Records Act.

Abbott asked Sypher why she waited until after she was indicted on the extortion charge to report her allegations. She gave varying answers, according to transcripts, saying she wanted to forget about it, then that Pitino threatened her and finally that "they kept throwing crumbs to keep me happy," not saying what the "crumbs" were.