McGee is now an assistant at Missouri-Kansas City.
UMKC announced Friday that McGee has been placed on administrative leave.
"To say I'm disheartened or disappointed would probably be the biggest understatement I've made since I've been a coach," said Louisville's Rick Pitino. "I'm heartbroken."
The book alleges that, over a four-year period, a woman named Katina Powell brought women, in exchange for money, into Billy Minardi Hall -- which houses basketball players on Louisville's campus -- to entertain players and recruits. Powell alleges that her dancers -- three of whom were her daughters -- would sometimes have sex with players and recruits for an additional sum, all of which was negotiated by McGee.
The book is titled "Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen," and it was published late Friday by IBJ Book Publishing of Indianapolis, several hours after Yahoo! Sports first reported the book's existence. Over a span of nine relatively short chapters, the book details, among other things, what it claims are text messages proving McGee set up parties for players and recruits with Powell and her escorts, and there are several pictures of Powell and her escorts with Louisville players, both former and current.
Powell writes that McGee spent more than $10,000 with her.
IBJ tweeted a picture from the book late Friday.
The book claims the following exchange happened between McGee and Powell in 2011:
McGee: what's up with a show Saturday night?
Powell: U tell me. 4 who?
McGee: This kid who already decided to come here but this will be his first time visiting.
Powell: OK that's cool. Give me details later.
McGee: I'm telling you now cause we gotta talk about prices. I can't keep spitting out 200 and 250 up front. Its basketball season ... so we got some tickets ... so lets talk.
Powell: OK lets talk tickets then.
Louisville AD Tom Jurich said Friday that the school learned about the allegations in late August and "immediately" hired Chuck Smrt, who formerly worked for the NCAA.
That investigation is ongoing.
"He is the quarterback of this thing," Jurich said. "We want to find the facts."
Pitino spoke for 20 minutes and said he's talked with 15 ex-assistants, all of whom insisted, he said, they were unaware of the allegations. The Hall of Fame coach added he spoke with McGee upon learning of the allegations. He said McGee denied the allegations.
Still, it's important to note, neither Jurich nor Pitino denied the allegations.
They expressed shock.
But neither denied that what's alleged actually happened.
In fact, at one point, a reporter opened a question by saying, "You've mentioned that you don't believe these allegations are true," at which point Pitino said, "I didn't say that."
A source told CBS Sports the NCAA will approach this as an extra benefits case because, the source said, "a person buying a player or recruit a girl is no different, in the NCAA's eyes, than a person buying a player or recruit a car or a phone." Beyond that, even if investigators conclude that Pitino was in the dark, the source said he could get the same kind of "lack of coach control" charge fellow Hall of Fame coaches Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) and Larry Brown (SMU) have received in the past year, which would lead to a suspension.
Boeheim and Brown will both serve suspensions this season.
"The University of Louisville will continue its review in full cooperation and coordination with the NCAA and, if warranted, take any appropriate action," read a statement released by Louisville officials in advance of the press conference. "The allegations have been taken very seriously. In no way would anyone at this institution condone the alleged activities."
McGee's lawyer, Scott Cox, released a statement to the Courier-Journal late Friday.
"[Powell is] a whore," Cox said. "She is interested in making money."
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