A college basketball scandal has rocked the NCAA, resulting in various indictments.
Here are nine things you should know about the FBI’s investigation into college basketball:
- The FBI discovered that coaches, sneaker executives, sports agents, travel-team coaches and financial advisers have been offering under-the-table payments to high school talent in order to bring them in to certain NCAA programs.
- The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York indicted 10 men, including assistant basketball coaches at Arizona, Auburn, Oklahoma State and USC, as well as an executive for adidas.
- More schools will likely be included in this indictment moving forward as these complaints will lead the way towards learning about more payouts and kickbacks in the recruitment of top prospects.
- None of the parties have agreed to cooperate with authorities so far, but this is another avenue in which the FBI could learn more about college basketball payments.
- Figures named include former NBA star Chuck Person, an assistant at Auburn, plus assistants Lamont Evans of Oklahoma State, Emanuel “Book” Richardson of Arizona, Tony Bland of USC and adidas executive Jim Gatto.
- More prominent names are expected to come out soon.
- The FBI’s investigation consisted of using undercover agents in hotel rooms, meeting and deals.
- One case is adidas’ Gatto, who “conspired to illicitly funnel approximately $100,000 from company-1 to the family of Player-10, an All-American high school basketball player; to assist one or more coaches at University-6, a school sponsored by Company-1, and to further ensure that Player-6 ultimately retained the services of Dawkins and Sood and signed with Company-1 upon entering the NBA,” according to the 200-page complaint on him. “The bribe money was structured in a manner so to conceal it from the NCAA and officials at University-6 by among other things having Company-1 wire money to a third party consultants who them facilitated cash payments to Player-10s family.”
- The defendants are legally presumed innocent until proven guilty.
