Woman initiated tryst, Pitino testifies

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A woman accused of demanding millions to stay quiet about a tryst with Rick Pitino initiated the sex by whispering to him and unzipping his pants when he got up to leave an empty Italian restaurant, he testified Wednesday.

The Louisville coach's testimony marked the first time he has talked publicly in detail about his July 2003 encounter with Karen Cunagin Sypher, the meeting that led to her trial this week on extortion charges. Pitino's portrayal of Sypher as the aggressor came after several witnesses said she was flirting and persistent when she approached Pitino at the restaurant.

Pitino testified that the two lingered to talk after the restaurant had closed. As he got up from the table, the married father of five said Sypher whispered something.

"Some unfortunate things happened," Pitino said in the courtroom packed with spectators from basketball-mad Kentucky. "She opened up my pants."

"Did you have sex that night?" Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Ford asked.

"Yes, very briefly," Pitino answered. The two have said they had sex at the table.

Sypher, 50, was sitting a few feet away but appeared unfazed by Pitino's testimony, sometimes watching him, sometimes passing notes to her attorney, James Earhart.

Sypher is charged with extortion, asking for cash, cars and a house to stay quiet about the sexual liaison. She has pleaded not guilty, claiming Pitino sexually assaulted her. Police and prosecutors have said her assault claim lacked merit.

Pitino will return to the witness stand Thursday to face questioning from the defense.

A few weeks after their encounter, Sypher, then known as Karen Wise, called and said she was pregnant.

"I didn't believe at the time it was my child," Pitino said. "She said she didn't know what she was going to do."

Sypher said she had no health insurance, Pitino said, so he offered $3,000. He thought the money was for counseling and medical needs, but Sypher later said she had an abortion, Pitino said.

Less than a year later, Pitino's equipment manager, Tim Sypher, married Karen Wise.

The threats to reveal the sexual fling came nearly six years later, Pitino said.

On Feb. 26, 2009, he listened to a cell phone message of a man's voice describing details of the encounter at the restaurant and calling it a violent assault, Pitino told the jury.

"He mentioned the word rape. I got very sick to my stomach," Pitino said.

Jurors earlier heard testimony from Lester Goetzinger of Louisville, who acknowledged making the calls in exchange for sexual favors from Sypher.

Pitino also testified he received a handwritten note from Sypher in March 2009 that asked for cars, housing and money.

Pitino has coached at Louisville since 2001 after leaving the NBA's Boston Celtics, with whom Tim Sypher served as his special assistant.