University of Louisville head basketball coach released a statement today claiming that he has been threatened in a criminal scheme to extort money out of him.

The coach released a statement through the university and though he didn’t give any specific details on the actions he claims are being used against him, he said in the statement “I intend to vigorously defend my reputation and the character of my family against any criminal scheme to extort money.”

Here are some more highlights of the statement released by Pitino.

“My family and I were recently threatened as part of a criminal scheme to extort money. Upon receiving these threats, we reported this extortion attempt to the FBI. While I did not want to make this matter public, I recently learned that the individual behind this extortion attempt has already gone to the media with false, defamatory and outrageous allegations in an attempt to pressure me to cave in to this scheme.”

U of L President Jim Ramsey and athletic director Tom Jurich also released statements in support of coach Pitino.

“The University of Louisville supports Coach Pitino and his family,” Ramsey said. “We stand by his decision to report this matter to the authorities and will now leave this criminal investigation in the hands of the FBI.”

No further comments and details have been released as this is now an ongoing federal investigation.