Former Louisville coach Rick Pitino had 'no knowledge' of recruiting scandal, he says

— -- Former University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino said in an interview with ESPN that he had "no knowledge" that an assistant coach allegedly paid the family of a high-profile player in what became one of the biggest scandals to rock college basketball in recent years.

Pitino denied any knowledge of the scandal when asked by ESPN's Jay Bilas whether he knew about the assistant coach's alleged $100,000 request to a representative for Adidas for the recruit's family, saying he had to take a lie detector test to back up his statement.

"One of the toughest things you have to do -- hope you never have to do it -- is take a lie detector test," Pitino told Bilas.

Pitino said he was asked whether he had any knowledge of an Adidas transaction or of the recruit's family receiving money.

"I answered 'absolutely not' on both questions and passed the lie detector test," he said. "So, I had no knowledge of any of this."

Pitino's statement echoed the ones he made when the scandal broke out last month, when the FBI announced that 10 men -- including four assistant coaches across the country and Adidas executive James Gatto -- were charged with crimes related to the investigation, according to ESPN.

Pitino filed a lawsuit in federal court this week alleging damages from Adidas's handling of the Louisville basketball program's recruits.

"Mr. Pitino's lawsuit is clearly a reaction to his termination yesterday and is without merit," an Adidas spokesperson told ESPN.

The embattled coach -- who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 -- was initially placed on unpaid administrative leave but was fired Monday after Louisville's athletic board voted unanimously to oust him, ESPN reported. The school's athletic board also voted 10-3 Wednesday to fire athletic director Tom Jurich, who was suspended last month.

Pitino was already under scrutiny for a sex scandal that put the university's basketball program on NCAA probation, according to ESPN.

Assistant coaches Kenny Johnson and Jordan Fair were placed on paid administrative leave earlier this month, but the school announced Fair's dismissal last week, ESPN reported.

"I take full responsibility for anybody I hire," Pitino said, according to ESPN. "There's no question about that. I take ownership of that.

More of this interview can be seen on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt tonight after the San Antonio Spurs-Minnesota Timberwolves game on ESPN.