Audio, Transcript: Dino Gaudio's Extortion of Chris Mack

The ex-Louisville men's basketball assistant coach attempted to extort the program after being informed he would not be retained.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - On March 17, 2021, Louisville men's basketball head coach Chris Mack held a meeting with then-assistant coach Dino Gaudio in his office, and informed him that his contract would not be renewed.

Upon hearing this, Gaudio then exploded, threatening to expose recruiting violations to members of the local and national media if he did not receive a lump sum of 17 months salary - indicative of his pay through his anticipated retirement date.

Unknown to Gaudio, Mack started to record the conversation moments after informing Gaudio of his firing. The audio was then sent to school officials, then later sent over to law enforcement, including the FBI.

“Sensing an explosive situation was imminent, I made the decision to protect myself” Mack told Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde. “I wanted to make sure there was no confusion about this hostile situation.”

On Aug. 27, Gaudio was sentenced to one year of probation and a $10,000 fine, in accordance with his plea deal taken earlier this summer. Hours earlier, Mack was suspended for the first six games of the 2021-22 season for failing "to follow University guidelines, policies, and procedures in handling the matter".

You can also view the redacted transcript of the audio, courtesy of SI's Pat Forde, at this link. Below is the unedited audio recording, obtained by ESPN Louisville through an open records request, and used by permission for Louisville Report:

*NSFW*

(Photo of Dino Gaudio: Scott Utterback - Louisville Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC)

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