Other Sports This could get interesting for several College BB Teams.... - Page 3

**ChiTown** · 09-26-2017, 08:52 AM

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

DJ's left nut · 09-26-2017, 02:38 PM

Ah the laughable amount of willful ignorance....

https://www.cbssports.com/college-ba...-star-in-2017/

Quote:

Bowen, who is from Michigan, wasn't even recruited by Louisville for most of the past two years. But in the past couple of weeks, something changed. Bowen had someone in his camp reach out to Louisville to gauge potential interest.

Wow! Who could've guessed he was paid!?!? After not being recruited by Louisville for 2 years, one of the best recruits in the country pulls an RKO out of nowhere and chooses Louisville because 'something changed...'

Pitt Gorilla · 09-26-2017, 02:43 PM

I guess Mizzou was fortunate to have a nobody like Kim at Mizzou for the past three years?!?

Randallflagg · 09-26-2017, 02:44 PM

It's funny, when you think about it. I played football for Louisville Waaayyy back in the 70s. I had a friend who was going to Kentucky - and he asked me one day if they were "giving" me anything....after I stopped laughing I asked him "Have you SEEN our record!?!?!"
-
Hell, we couldn't get out of our own way.
-
I was more than a little glad when I screwed up my knee....

**alnorth** · 09-26-2017, 02:47 PM

Optimistic take: If you are an assistant coach in Kansas, you really don't need to take huge risks or cut corners. Your job is safe because Self isn't going anywhere, so just put in 5 or 6 years, don't do anything stupid, and you are pretty much guaranteed to be hired as a well-paid head basketball coach at a D1 school somewhere.

**Buehler445** · 09-26-2017, 02:54 PM

Hope KU kept their shit clean. I'm not naive enough to think they've done nothing wrong. But hopefully they aren't Pitino level hucksters.

**gblowfish** · 09-26-2017, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Ah the laughable amount of willful ignorance....one of the best recruits in the country pulls an RKO out of nowhere and chooses Louisville because 'something changed...'

The thing that changed was several pictures of Ben Franklin changin' hands...

DJ's left nut · 09-26-2017, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

I guess Mizzou was fortunate to have a nobody like Kim at Mizzou for the past three years?!?

Haith couldn't even keep his nose clean at Miami and Fuller was known for having strong ties in the AAU scene.

I can easily see a scenario where Haith and Fuller would've gotten Mizzou tied up in this, especially with Haith's insecurity over his job status. If they'd have kept him around and he felt additional pressure to save his job, I could easily see him having gone this route.

Fortunately Kermit was too shitty to even contemplate 'competing'.

Pitt Gorilla · 09-26-2017, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Haith couldn't even keep his nose clean at Miami and Fuller was known for having strong ties in the AAU scene.

I can easily see a scenario where Haith and Fuller would've gotten Mizzou tied up in this, especially with Haith's insecurity over his job status. If they'd have kept him around and he felt additional pressure to save his job, I could easily see him having gone this route.

Fortunately Kermit was too shitty to even contemplate 'competing'.

Haith and Fuller should still worry Mizzou fans. Of course, there is is this:

There's been just 1 KU 1st rd pick not to sign with Adidas. Wiggins, Embiid, Oubre, Diallo, garbage ass Thomas Robinson, all adidas.
— Stephen Lawrence (@smyzo) September 26, 2017

Mr. Plow · 09-26-2017, 03:27 PM

Just hoping KU basketball covered their tracks better than the others. We certainly aren't paying football players to come play for us.

DJ's left nut · 09-26-2017, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Haith and Fuller should still worry Mizzou fans. Of course, there is is this:

There's been just 1 KU 1st rd pick not to sign with Adidas. Wiggins, Embiid, Oubre, Diallo, garbage ass Thomas Robinson, all adidas.
— Stephen Lawrence (@smyzo) September 26, 2017

Yeah but the investigation is said to go back to 2015 so we'd have hopefully been clear of any obvious idiocy perpetrated by Haith and co. by then.

The Bowen thing was last summer, in fact.

I have a hard time envisioning a scenario where Haith and Fuller ended up trapped in this particular net. And as for KU's ties with Adidas - oh I'm sure that part of that sponsorship with KU is at worst a wink/nod understanding that they will steer their players towards Adidas afterwards.

But I can't imagine that would be on tape. KU and Adidas have been together for awhile; they got all their ducks in a row years ago.

Pitt Gorilla · 09-26-2017, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Yeah but the investigation is said to go back to 2015 so we'd have hopefully been clear of any obvious idiocy perpetrated by Haith and co. by then.

The Bowen thing was last summer, in fact.

I have a hard time envisioning a scenario where Haith and Fuller ended up trapped in this particular net. And as for KU's ties with Adidas - oh I'm sure that part of that sponsorship with KU is at worst a wink/nod understanding that they will steer their players towards Adidas afterwards.

But I can't imagine that would be on tape. KU and Adidas have been together for awhile; they got all their ducks in a row years ago.

if adidas’ head honcho is facing prison, he’s going to roll. What that means for the NCAA is less clear.

DJ's left nut · 09-26-2017, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

if adidas’ head honcho is facing prison, he’s going to roll. What that means for the NCAA is less clear.

I guess the question would be how interested the FBI is in using their leverage to get someone to cooperate with the NCAA (or how excited the NCAA would be to barbecue any of their blue bloods).

My understanding is that this investigation was not really designed to uncover a ton of NCAA violations (that's why Louisville isn't the biggest offender for them; they don't so much care about an NCAA violation if it's not part of their fraud inquiry). So ultimately what does the FBI care about getting an Adidas marketing guy to turn on KU? And why would the NCAA have any vested interest in blowing them out of the water?

Especially when the natural reaction to his for many will be 'none of this would be a problem if you just paid your players...'

I don't think the NCAA wants any part of this smoldering rubble. I think they'd just as soon let the FBI bury a couple guys and be done with it.

Larryinsider · 09-26-2017, 04:07 PM

I live in Lawrence and my bro worked for KU.

To be real, we all know it's happening with everyone (like roids during the Armstrong cycling days), but the question becomes how well KU's system navigates the law.

My bro worked for KU for a long time - and from him it seems KU has its stuff down to a science. For instance, it's pretty well known that expensive cars "owned" by former players are lended to current players the alums are "friends with" while they're in Lawrence.

Tyler Self also seemed to "accidentally" have top recruit roomies like Andrew Wiggins you best believe Tyler's crib was tricked out to a T when Wiggins was here - but good luck getting the NCAA to crack down on Bill's gifts to "his son."

Hope KU learned their lesson in 89 and didn't do anything outright illegal, but uh, I'm still nervous. It may depend on how bousee the Feds are when it comes to making the NCAA hang. It could be a good thing, tho - and finally give the NBA an excuse to bypass the NCAA altogether and let the players go strait to a D-League.

**ChiTown** · 09-26-2017, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larryinsider

I live in Lawrence and my bro worked for KU.

To be real, we all know it's happening with everyone (like roids during the Armstrong cycling days), but the question becomes how well KU's system navigates the law.

My bro worked for KU for a long time - and from him it seems KU has its stuff down to a science. For instance, it's pretty well known that expensive cars "owned" by former players are lended to current players the alums are "friends with" while they're in Lawrence.

Tyler Self also seemed to "accidentally" have top recruit roomies like Andrew Wiggins you best believe Tyler's crib was tricked out to a T when Wiggins was here - but good luck getting the NCAA to crack down on Bill's gifts to "his son."

Hope KU learned their lesson in 89 and didn't do anything outright illegal, but uh, I'm still nervous. It may depend on how bousee the Feds are when it comes to making the NCAA hang. It could be a good thing, tho - and finally give the NBA an excuse to bypass the NCAA altogether and let the players go strait to a D-League.

It's pretty simple:

They are an Adidas school for a reason. It's just a matter as to whether they get caught or not.

DJ's left nut · 09-26-2017, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiTown

It's pretty simple:

They are an Adidas school for a reason. It's just a matter as to whether they get caught or not.

And whether or not they get caught depends on how interested the NCAA is in killing the Golden Goose (and the FBI is in helping them do so).

I suspect the answer to both of those questions is 'not terribly'.

They'll be fine.

09-26-2017, 08:52 AM
ChiTown Stroking to the SB Champs! Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Flatlands of Kansas Casino cash: $3213962	This could get interesting for several College BB Teams.... *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
Posts: 39,346

09-26-2017, 02:43 PM	#32
Pitt Gorilla Banned! Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: NOT Columbia, MO 65201 Casino cash: $2870194	I guess Mizzou was fortunate to have a nobody like Kim at Mizzou for the past three years?!? __________________ Your son is a bench warmer because of your weak genetics not because of the coach Norlin Mommsen is disgusting.
Posts: 46,073

09-26-2017, 02:44 PM	#33
Randallflagg MVP Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Olathe Casino cash: $9987156	It's funny, when you think about it. I played football for Louisville Waaayyy back in the 70s. I had a friend who was going to Kentucky - and he asked me one day if they were "giving" me anything....after I stopped laughing I asked him "Have you SEEN our record!?!?!" - Hell, we couldn't get out of our own way. - I was more than a little glad when I screwed up my knee....
Posts: 9,578

09-26-2017, 02:47 PM	#34
alnorth . Join Date: Dec 2002 Casino cash: $57166239	Optimistic take: If you are an assistant coach in Kansas, you really don't need to take huge risks or cut corners. Your job is safe because Self isn't going anywhere, so just put in 5 or 6 years, don't do anything stupid, and you are pretty much guaranteed to be hired as a well-paid head basketball coach at a D1 school somewhere. __________________ how many emo kids does it take to change a lightbulb? HOW MANY?! none they just sit in the dark and cry
Posts: 36,130

09-26-2017, 02:54 PM	#35
Buehler445 Supporter Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Scott City KS Casino cash: $2234734	Hope KU kept their shit clean. I'm not naive enough to think they've done nothing wrong. But hopefully they aren't Pitino level hucksters.
Posts: 56,833

09-26-2017, 03:27 PM	#39
Mr. Plow In Search of a Life Join Date: Dec 2005 Casino cash: $1917391	Just hoping KU basketball covered their tracks better than the others. We certainly aren't paying football players to come play for us.
Posts: 30,812

09-26-2017, 04:07 PM	#43
Larryinsider Rookie Join Date: Sep 2017 Casino cash: $10000400	I live in Lawrence and my bro worked for KU. To be real, we all know it's happening with everyone (like roids during the Armstrong cycling days), but the question becomes how well KU's system navigates the law. My bro worked for KU for a long time - and from him it seems KU has its stuff down to a science. For instance, it's pretty well known that expensive cars "owned" by former players are lended to current players the alums are "friends with" while they're in Lawrence. Tyler Self also seemed to "accidentally" have top recruit roomies like Andrew Wiggins you best believe Tyler's crib was tricked out to a T when Wiggins was here - but good luck getting the NCAA to crack down on Bill's gifts to "his son." Hope KU learned their lesson in 89 and didn't do anything outright illegal, but uh, I'm still nervous. It may depend on how bousee the Feds are when it comes to making the NCAA hang. It could be a good thing, tho - and finally give the NBA an excuse to bypass the NCAA altogether and let the players go strait to a D-League.
Posts: 1