The father of a former University of Louisville basketball star has spoken out about the federal fraud and corruption scandal potentially involving head coach Rick Pitino to say he saw some of the bribes happen with his own eyes.
In fact, the father told the New York Post, in one case his son was offered $100,000 to attend one of Louisville’s rival schools by a brand agent.
A top Adidas executive and four assistant coaches are among 10 men charged with using hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to influence star athletes’ choice of, shoe sponsors, agents and schools – one of which was allegedly Louisville.
Though Pitino said he was shocked by the allegations, he was let go on Wednesday morning.
And now, the father of a former player who spoke to the Post on condition of anonymity, has said he could not stay silent any longer because he worries the allegations will taint talented players forever.
Pitino’s dismissal comes after he said on Tuesday he was shocked by corruption allegations made by federal prosecutors in New York against some college basketball assistant coaches.
The father of former University of Louisville basketball star has spoken out to say he doesn’t think Pitino is guilty, but that he saw the bribes happen with his own eyes, and his son was even offered $100,000 to go to one of Louisville’s rival schools once. On Wednesday Pitino was suspended from his job due to a national investigation that found that Adidas executives worked with college coaches to bribe players to go to certain schools
(From left to right) Lamont Evans of Oklahoma State, Emanuel Richardson of Arizona, Tony Bland of USC, and Auburn’s Chuck Person were all charged following an FBI investigation
Acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan Joon H. Kim. H said the picture of college basketball painted by these criminal charges is ‘not a pretty one’
Though the coach, who is one of the highest paid basketball coaches in the world with an annual salary of $7.7 million, had not been linked directly to the FBI investigation, some of the scandal’s most explosive allegations appear to involve Louisville, and so he was placed on leave.
And though the father said he doesn’t believe Pitino would get himself involved, he said he watched those types of bribes happen throughout his son’s career.
‘When my son was in high school, I was approached at an AAU (Association of American Universities) tournament by someone from a rival of Louisville’s,’ the father told the Post.
The father, who spoke on a condition of anonymity, said he is angry at the school and at the NCAA – he thinks this could be more easily avoided, but does not think Pitino is guilty
‘He said “If you want to go to our school, we can get you $100,000.’
For his son specifically money didn’t influence his decision into where he was going to play school, but he saw other students being influenced by brand agents.
‘While Adidas had no impact on my son’s decision to go to Louisville, other kids he played with in the AAU were definitely led by sneaker companies,’ he explained.
‘I saw it all the time. Their influence runs very deep – especially with families that don’t have means.’
That influence, he explained, came as early as middle school when Adidas sponsored his son’s AAU team.
‘While we still had to drive to tournaments, they paid for hotels, meals, and of course, all of the gear and sneakers.
‘At the time I was struggling financially, so Adidas’ support was truly a godsend.’
When his son started looking at universities, he said Adidas reps would try to push them towards schools they had contracts with.
For that reason, he never let the brand’s representatives get too close.
‘But I’ve watched it with players who didn’t have a stable home,’ he said. ‘
‘Families get preyed on by sneaker reps all of the time.’
He also went on to say that regardless of this, he doesn’t believe Pitino knew about the scandal, but that he and his family are mad at the NCAA and at Louisville.
‘I don’t think they upheld their end of the bargain to protect my kid and other players,’ he told the Post.
‘As for Coach Pitino, I don’t know the facts yet. I do know he is crazy hardworking. I believe he is innocent until proven guilty.
‘When you’re coaching at that level you can’t be privy to everything that goes on.’
One of the two schemes involved managers and advisors bribing college coaches, who persuaded top recruits and their families to sign with those managers and advisors
Another scheme involved an Adidas rep, James Gatto, and his associates funneling cash to top recruits in order to push them towards colleges that had sponsorship deals with Adidas
The decision to suspend Pitino was announced on Wednesday in a press conference. Athletic director Tom Jurich was placed on paid administrative leave as well.
He still has not been directly linked directly to the FBI investigation. However, some of the worst allegations in the court documents appear to involve Louisville, which was already on NCAA probation over a sex scandal.
In fact, Pitino had already been suspended for the first five games of the season after it was revealed that strippers were provided to basketball recruits by basketball operations director Andre McGee. Louisville is appealing the decision, but the school may ultimately be forced to vacate dozens of wins and the team’s 2013 national championship if the NCAA’s ruling is not overturned.
Feds target ‘dark underbelly’ of college basketball after 10 people – including coaches and an Adidas exec – are busted in a massive bribery and corruption investigation
On Tuesday the FBI and Justice Department launched a massive crackdown on what they described as the ‘dark underbelly’ of college basketball after 10 people – including four assistant coaches – were arrested as part of a widespread investigation into systemic bribery and corruption involving several schools.
According to acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan Joon H. Kim, the investigation was launched in 2015 and focuses on ‘the criminal influence of money on coaches and student-athletes who participate in intercollegiate basketball governed by the NCAA’
No schools have been charged with any wrongdoing, but the University of Louisville announced it ‘received notice that it is included in a federal investigation involving criminal activity related to men’s basketball recruiting.’
The investigation is ongoing.
‘We have your playbook,’ New York FBI Assistant Director in Charge William Sweeney said during a Manhattan news conference on Tuesday. ‘Our investigation is ongoing and we are conducting additional interviews as we speak.’
(From left to right) Lamont Evans of Oklahoma State, Emanuel Richardson of Arizona, Tony Bland of USC, and Auburn’s Chuck Person were all charged following an FBI investigation
Acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan Joon H. Kim. H said the picture of college basketball painted by these criminal charges is ‘not a pretty one’
Specifically, two schemes were investigated: one in which recruits and their families were paid to go to particular universities and another in which player advisors were paid to persuade those players to sign with certain managers, agents, and financial advisors.
Auburn’s Chuck Person (pointing), who previously worked as a Los Angeles Lakers assistant and was once the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, is accused of receiving nearly $100,000 in bribes
In a statement, NCAA president Mark Emmert said the organization has ‘no tolerance whatsoever’ for the behavior described in the court documents, calling the allegations ‘deeply disturbing.’
‘Coaches hold a unique position of trust with student-athletes and their families and these bribery allegations, if true, suggest an extraordinary and despicable breach of that trust,’ Emmert continued. ‘We learned of these charges this morning and of course will support the ongoing criminal federal investigation.’
Oklahoma State’s Lamont Evans, Emanuel Richardson of Arizona, Tony Bland of USC, and Auburn University’s Chuck Person – a former NBA player and 1987 Rookie of the Year – are the four coaches charged in the corruption scheme, according to court documents .
Person has been suspended by Auburn, the school announced Tuesday.
Kim went on to say that the coaches involved exploited the ‘trust of the players they coached and recruited.’
‘The picture of college basketball painted by the charges is not a pretty one – coaches at some of the nation’s top programs taking cash bribes, managers and advisors circling blue-chip prospects like coyotes, and employees of a global sportswear company funneling cash to families of high school recruits,’ Joon H. Kim. H said.
‘For the ten charged men, the madness of college basketball went well beyond the Big Dance in March,’ he continued. ‘Month after month, the defendants allegedly exploited the hoop dreams of student-athletes around the country, treating them as little more than opportunities to enrich themselves through bribery and fraud schemes.’
FBI raids top NBA player agency, confiscates computer in connection with massive NCAA corruption investigation
The FBI raided the office of one of the NBA’s top player agencies, ASM Sports, and confiscated founder Andy Miller’s computer in connection with the agency’s investigation into fraud and bribery in college basketball.
Legal and sports agent blogger Darren Heitner first reported the raid on Twitter. An ASM spokesman has not returned requests for comment.
On Tuesday acting Manhattan US Attorney Joon Kim and New York FBI Assistant Director in Charge William Sweeney announced the ongoing investigation that has already led to the arrests of 10 men, including four assistant college basketball coaches, two Adidas employees, a financial adviser, and Christian Dawkins, who previously worked as an agent at ASM sports.
Agent Andy Miller (left) seen here with Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry (center) and team president Masai Ujiri (right). Miller’s computer was confiscated by the FBI on Tuesday
Dawkins – who was reportedly fired by ASM for allegedly accumulating $42,000 in Uber charges on an NBA player’s credit card – is accused of bribing assistant college basketball coaches in exchange for their efforts to persuade collegiate players to sign with Dawkins when they turned professional.
The documents also allege that Dawkins’s bribes were laundered through the Adidas-sponsored program ‘1 Family AAU,’ which was run by Jonathan Brad Augustine.
Miller’s agency represents some of the NBA’s biggest names, including Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis and Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry.
Former ASM agent Christian Dawkins exiting Federal Court in Manhattan on Tuesday
Knicks power forward Kristaps Porzingis is one of Andy Miller’s many NBA clients
It’s unclear at this time if the raid at ASM is connected directly with Dawkins.
According to Kim, the investigation was launched in 2015 and focuses on ‘the criminal influence of money on coaches and student-athletes who participate in intercollegiate basketball governed by the N.C.A.A.’
No schools have been charged with any wrongdoing, but the University of Louisville announced it ‘received notice that it is included in a federal investigation involving criminal activity related to men’s basketball recruiting.’
Specifically, two schemes were investigated: one in which recruits and their families were paid to go to particular universities and another in which player advisors were paid to persuade those players to sign with certain managers, agents, and financial advisors.
In all, 10 people were charged in New York City federal court, including managers, financial advisors, and sportswear company representatives.