More NCAA College Basketball Coaches Indicted
If you have been following the scandal that is rocking NCAA Basketball since September, this story just added another chapter and it looks like it will never end. Four NCAA Coaches and with four other officials were indicted on charges of bribery and fraud involving the recruiting process of student-athletes.
NCAA forms Commission on College Basketball to “fix a system that clearly is not working.” https://t.co/fCzKdGydu3 pic.twitter.com/6owe78sH1g
— NCAA (@NCAA) October 11, 2017
The charges so far involve the following:
Chuck Person – The former Auburn college basketball coach was among the first people indicted on six counts on bribery and fraud. Person was also accused of accepting $91,500 in bribes from Rashan Michel which was on the basis that Auburn players in their post-collegiate careers continue using the services of Michel if Auburn players went to the NBA.
Tony Bland – The USC college basketball coach, currently on administrative leave, was indicted on four counts of bribery and fraud. In the report, Bland facilitated bribes totaling $9000 to the families of two USC players, one of them currently on the roster. Bland also used his position to influence players sign with agents connected with Bland.
Emanuel Richardson – Richardson is currently on paid leave. Arrested on September 26, Richardson was involved in a scheme that utilized a money manager, a sports agent, and Arizona Wildcats players. Richardson used the services of Christian Dawkins (also indicted) and Munish Sood (indictment pending) to land prospect Jahvon Quinerly and in return Richardson would use their services to convince Wildcats players to sign with Dawkins and Sood as their agents.
Lamont Evans – The recently fired Oklahoma State college basketball coach was accused of accepting $22,000 in bribes while at South Carolina and Oklahoma State.
Christian Dawkins – Dawkins previously worked for ASM Sports, an agency out of Atlanta, Georgia. Those who have previously worked with Dawkins mentioned that he was never considered to be an agent, but a runner. Dawkins has been involved with the the coaches previously mentioned. Dawkins could face the most serious penalty facing up to 200-years in federal prison.
James Gatto – A former executive for Adidas was involved with paying coaches to bribe top recruits to sign with the school. In exchange, coaches will influence players to sign with Adidas. Gatto’s involvement was one of the few reasons former Louisville head coach Rick Pitino fired from the university.
Merl Code Jr. – Code is now a former employee of Adidas. Code was involved with the company’s sponsored AAU program where Code made payments to the players families in order to be recruited by universities.
Rashan Michel – The former NBA referee turned entrepreneur offered his services to players once they turned pro. Michel was named as a key accomplice of Chuck Person. Michel has hundreds of clients that are currently in the NFL and NBA.
These recent indictments are really showing the disgusting and corrupt nature of how the recruiting process works in amateur athletics. More indictments and arrests will be made in the near future, the NCAA and AAU will be put on notice on how these programs are run.
