This could get interesting for several College BB Teams....

[ChiTown]

A college basketball bribery scandal leads to arrests of 10 people — including an Adidas executive


The FBI arrested 10 people on charges of fraud and corruption in college basketball on Tuesday.

The Department of Justice announced Tuesday that college basketball coaches at University of Arizona, Auburn, University of Southern California, and Oklahoma State University had been arrested, as well as managers, financial advisors, and representatives of a major international sportswear company.

Jim Gatto, director of global sports marketing for basketball at Adidas, was also named as a defendant. According to the complaint, Gatto allegedly conspired with coaches to pay high school athletes to play at universities sponsored by Adidas (referred to as "Company 1" in the case).

The investigation, which was been in progress since 2015, has been led by the FBI and the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York. Three separate complaints have been filed.

Gatto and four other defendants have been charged with "making and concealing bribe payments" to high school student athletes and/or their families.

In one instance, Gatto and the other defendants reportedly funneled $100,000 to the family of a high school basketball player to convince the player to sign with a "public research university" in Kentucky. The complaint doesn't name the university. Based on details provided, it is likely the University of Louisville, which signed a $160 million sponsorship deal with Adidas in August.

In another case, Gatto and other defendants allegedly agreed to make payments of up to $150,000 from Adidas to convince the player to join another team sponsored by the apparel company, according to filings. The university is not named, but based on the information provided, it’s likely the University of Miami, which entered into a 12-year partnership with Adidas in 2015.

Other defendants include Jonathan Brad Augustine, president of nonprofit The League Initiative; Merl Code, the head of Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League as of 2013; and Christian Dawkins, a former sports agent who was reportedly fired in May for charging $42,000 in Uber rides on an NBA player’s credit card.

The coaches named as defendants in the cases include Anthony “Tony” Bland, associate head coach at University of Southern California and former assistant coach at San Diego State; Chuck Connors Person, associate head coach at Auburn University; Lamont Evans, associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for Oklahoma State University’s basketball team and former South Carolina assistant coach; and Emmanuel Richardson, an assistant coach for University of Arizona.

The multi-million dollar battle for top-tier college basketball teams is hard fought amongst sportswear giants. The visibility of being worn by a certain team or high-profile player is a valuable marketing opportunity for apparel companies, despite the fact that NCAA players cannot be paid to endorse brands.

In the 2016 NCAA men's basketball tournament, Nike was the clear leader, providing uniforms for 41 entrants, the Baltimore Sun reported. Adidas provided outfits for 14 teams, Under Armour outfitted 10 teams, and Russell Athletic outfitted three.

Under Armour has made major investments in college basketball in recent years. In 2016, the company made a $280 million agreement to replace Adidas as the UCLA men's basketball team's shoe and apparel sponsor for the next 15 years. Under Armour has also cut deals in recent deals with teams including Notre Dame, Auburn, and Wisconsin.

http://www.businessinsider.com/colle...arrests-2017-9

[BlackHelicopters]

Why is his news?
The real news it took law enforcement this long to act. This is a joke.

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by Pasta Giant Meatball

They ALL do this shit. Who the **** cares?

Apparently the FBI......

[Pasta Little Brioni]

While it gets swept under the rug at other institutions...

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by noa

I have no idea if this is really the basis, but I wonder if it's because the schools are state schools, and hence the coaches are state employees.

I skimmed through the indictments, and this is close to being correct. Since the coaches are state employees, and since the university they work for also receives more than $10,000/year from the Feds, then they are under the various federal bribery laws. Both the people offering the bribes and the coaches accepting them are in serious trouble.

There were a couple of basic types of bribes I could see, one is a coach offering to refer star players to specific financial planners and agents when they turn pro in return for kickbacks from that financial planner or agent, and the other is agreeing to sign long-term deals with specific apparal companies (Adidas) in exchange for that company paying off and sending high school players their way. The theory of the crime (ie why do the Feds care) is that the bribers are depriving the school of the bribee's honest service, maybe they are referring players to inferior financial planners, or signing crappy apparel deals to enrich themselves.

And in typical hilarious federal dog-piling fashion, the indictments also stack a ton of wire fraud and interstate commerce crimes on top of the defendants since they are of course using telephones and US mail while offering and receiving bribes. This makes the potential prison terms terrifyingly long to scare targets into cooperating and rolling on other coaches/bribers.

[kstater]

Originally Posted by alnorth

And in typical hilarious federal dog-piling fashion, the indictments also stack a ton of wire fraud and interstate commerce crimes on top of the defendants since they are of course using telephones and US mail while offering and receiving bribes. This makes the potential prison terms terrifyingly long to scare targets into cooperating and rolling on other coaches/bribers.

BWillies comment is premature considering KU is Addias too

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by kstater

BWillies comment is premature considering KU is Addias too

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I'm metaphorically holding my breath re: KU basketball. I really hope Coach Self and his assistants were smart.

[Simply Red]

penis pump

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by kstater

BWillies comment is premature considering KU is Addias too

Who just signed a record endorsement deal with Adidas on Monday.

Right now, regardless of the number of skeletons in your closet, it would simply be better to have nothing to do with Adidas. I know it's not exclusive to them but it's Adidas that the Feds have their claws into right now and they're going to look to turn inside out.

If you're Kansas and you've done anything dirty, you're the Blue Blood of their client list. That's gonna be who the Feds try to dig up dirt on. So KU fans had better hope that Self vetted his assistants well. I doubt Self was directly involved in anything (really, smart money is on nobody), but if it's anybody in the program, it'll be some assistant that was making moves before he was hired on and used that influence to perhaps make himself more appealing to schools.

Ultimately that's the biggest issue here in a lot of ways. These are schools that hired guys who have been taking bribes/peddling influence well before they were coaches at these universities. I'd imagine sometimes they were hired because of it but other times may well have been in spite of it.

Ultimately it ain't gonna matter in Louisville. Those boys are fuuu*******ed.

[Randallflagg]

Honestly, I can't believe that Louisville (My alma Mater) wasn't named as well....I have heard a lot of rumors over the last couple of years.

I graduated in 1976 - right around the time they started shooting higher in Basketball (loved Denny Crum) but over the last 20 for so years - I hear that they break nearly rule the NCAA has. Guess they've been busted once or twice, but they could have probably shut the program down if they looked any "deeper" (or so I hear)

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by BiStateNo

Honestly, I can't believe that Louisville (My alma Mater) wasn't named as well....I have heard a lot of rumors over the last couple of years.

I graduated in 1976 - right around the time they started shooting higher in Basketball (loved Denny Crum) but over the last 20 for so years - I hear that they break nearly rule the NCAA has. Guess they've been busted once or twice, but they could have probably shut the program down if they looked any "deeper" (or so I hear)

I think Louisville was one of the unnamed schools in some of the indictments, like "University 6" or something. The media figured it out quickly because the description and some of the facts of that unnamed school in Kentucky could only be Louisville.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by BiStateNo

Honestly, I can't believe that Louisville (My alma Mater) wasn't named as well....I have heard a lot of rumors over the last couple of years.

I graduated in 1976 - right around the time they started shooting higher in Basketball (loved Denny Crum) but over the last 20 for so years - I hear that they break nearly rule the NCAA has. Guess they've been busted once or twice, but they could have probably shut the program down if they looked any "deeper" (or so I hear)

Uh. Look again.

You guys are absolutely, unequivocally, ****ed. I mean death penalty time.

They have you fellas on tape telling a player and his reps that he's getting $100K, including when. And saying that they have to keep it under the radar because they're on probation. It was about 4 weeks after the original probation was announced.

Louisville is done. The AD is gone, Pitino is retiring in disgrace and I'm betting a 3 year expulsion from mens college basketball.

This is going to be the single biggest hammer the NCAA has ever wielded.

[stevieray]

seriously, why is there so much corruption?

a damn game kids play... can't even stay pure.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by alnorth

I think Louisville was one of the unnamed schools in some of the indictments, like "University 6" or something. The media figured it out quickly because the description and some of the facts of that unnamed school in Kentucky could only be Louisville.

Yup.

Big Blue Nation is ordering their "University 6" T-shirts and posters as we speak.

They flat out paid for Brian Bowen immediately after being put on probation. They're gone.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by stevieray

seriously, why is there so much corruption?

a damn game kids play... can't even stay pure.

Capitalism is like water. If you try to make it illegal, then it'll just figure out a way to flow where it wants to flow.

For the vast majority of players this isn't an issue, but for the 10 or 15 star recruits in each class who are forced to spend one year in college, they and their families know they will make the school millions, they want their cut of that money, and the coaches want them.

[Randallflagg]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Uh. Look again.

You guys are absolutely, unequivocally, ****ed. I mean death penalty time.

They have you fellas on tape telling a player and his reps that he's getting $100K, including when. And saying that they have to keep it under the radar because they're on probation. It was about 4 weeks after the original probation was announced.

Louisville is done. The AD is gone, Pitino is retiring in disgrace and I'm betting a 3 year expulsion from mens college basketball.

This is going to be the single biggest hammer the NCAA has ever wielded.

Ah, I see that now....Jesus.

Welp - you have to figure that the thought process was "Get away with it while you can and pay the piper later". Stupid logic...and, if proven, will kick them in the ass for the next 10 years.