LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Kevin Ware said Tuesday that he plans to plead guilty to speeding and reckless driving charges and move forward with any punishment he receives.
The Louisville junior guard, whose gruesome right leg injury sustained during the Cardinals' NCAA title run last spring made him an inspirational figure, answered media questions Tuesday night about missing a Monday court date to face charges of driving a 2013 Dodge Challenger 95 mph in a construction zone on Interstate 65 late on Oct. 26.
Ware's court date in Barren County Circuit Court was rescheduled for this coming Monday. The player said he plans to represent himself and plead guilty to the charges.
"It's a speeding ticket," Ware said. "I'm going to go to court and handle the situation, and that's going to be that."
The Louisville Courier-Journal reported Tuesday that Ware borrowed the car from his friend Matt Case, a University of Louisville student, to visit a friend at Western Kentucky University. Cardinals basketball spokesman Kenny Klein said Tuesday that the school looked into the matter and determined that there were no compliance issues with using the vehicle.
Ware played in Louisville's victory over Hartford after meeting with Cardinals coach Rick Pitino, who wasn't pleased to hear about the matter when informed about it during a news conference Monday.
Asked what the coach said, Ware answered, "He put it to me like my mother would've put it to me. He was disappointed that I would be that stupid to do 95 (mph) in a 55 mph zone and put myself in danger and my fellow teammate in danger.
"That's really all it was. He was disappointed, but it's a speeding ticket. We're going to move past it."
Pitino said after the game that he wasn't worried about it being a compliance matter but expressed frustration over the distraction it created.
"I don't like distractions, and I was distracted the entire day with this nonsense," the coach said. "To me, it's someone trying to get to a concert and acting like a young kid, and he should have acted more like a mature man because he is now.
"He acted like a kid instead and he's going to have to pay the consequences of it, whatever those consequences are."
Ware sounded contrite about the matter, calling himself a "bad friend" and saying he made a mistake for speeding with Case's car. While he hopes to keep his driver's license, he said he would accept whatever the judge decides.
He also chalked up the controversy as a consequence of the celebrity that followed his horrific injury.
"If I wasn't Kevin Ware, this situation wouldn't be blowing up," he said.