Written by Kate Taylor at Business Insider.com
The FBI arrested 10 people on charges of charges of fraud and corruption in college basketball on Tuesday.
The Department of Justice announced Tuesday that college basketball coaches at the 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.
Gatto and four other defendants have been charged with “making and concealing bribe payments” to high school student-athletes and/or their families.
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 fired in May for charging $42,000 in Uber rides on an NBA player’s credit card.
The coaches arrested 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 Wall Street Journal reported this morning that the arrests were part of a “wide-ranging” investigation focused on financial advisors, agents, and apparel companies paid coaches, in exchange for pressuring players to associate with certain entities.
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.
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