Four basketball coaches, Adidas executive charged in college payoff scandal

Four top US university basketball coaches and a senior Adidas executive were arrested and charged with corruption and fraud Tuesday in a sprawling scandal over player recruitment and gear sponsorship bribes.

Federal prosecutors in New York bared what they called the "dark underbelly of college basketball," with six-figure payoffs to teenage players made through a charity and other vehicles, and bribes and commissions paid in restaurants with envelopes stuffed with hundred-dollar bills.

Felony charges were unveiled against a total of 10 people in the case that reveals the seedy underside of the multibillion-dollar business of ostensibly amateur high school and college basketball in the United States.

All those charged have been arrested, officials say.

The three overlapping indictments, based on the work of a confidential informant and undercover agents, showed coaches, agents and financial advisors plotting greedily to lock in chunks of talented young athletes' future career incomes.

"If we take care of everybody, we control everything, you can make millions off of one kid," Christian Dawkins, a sports agent charged in the scheme, was recorded as saying.

- Coaches 'abused player trust' -

University of Arizona's Emmanuel Richardson, Auburn University's Chuck Person, Lamont Evans of Oklahoma State and Tony Bland of University of Southern California were the NCAA coaches charged after a two-year FBI investigation.

All are assistant coaches involved in recruiting at top-level college basketball programs which feed players to the NBA where they can earn millions of dollars in their first year as a pro.

Two people from Adidas were charged: senior executive James Gatto, the company's director of global sports marketing for basketball, and Merl Code.

The others included the Adidas-sponsored head of Central Florida Basketball Academy -- one of the country's leading programs for pre-college players -- a clothier who makes suits for some of the country's leading athletes and financial advisors to players.

"The defendants exploited the hoop dreams of student athletes around the country," said Joon Kim, acting US attorney for the Southern District of New York.

He said the four coaches had abused the confidence they cultivated in players.

"All of them had the trust of the young players they recruited," Kim said.

- Big bucks -

As for the others, Kim said, "bribing coaches was a business investment."

"They knew that the corrupt coaches, in return for the bribes, would pressure the players to use their services. They also knew, if and when those young players turned pro, that would mean big bucks for them," he added.

The indictments delineated two separate schemes. The first was bribes paid to high school and college basketball players and their families to commit to playing at specific universities.

In one case, Gatto and others working with him were accused of funneling $100,000 to the family of a high school player in order to agree to join the Adidas-sponsored team of a university in the NCAA's top-flight Division I.

In a second scheme, coaches earned payoffs to get players to sign on to specific financial advisors once they moved to the NBA league after university.

One player, still at the high school level but headed to college, was allegedly promised $150,000 to commit to retaining a certain agent once he moved to the professional level.

The indictments were the latest embarrassment for the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the powerful organization regulating sports at more than 1,000 US colleges and universities.

The NCAA has been under a steadily rising attack for enriching schools and coaches of football and basketball, some of whom earn million-dollar salaries, as part of a huge media, entertainment and merchandise industry.

Meanwhile, the athletes who are at the center of it are forbidden to take even the smallest favor or lose their right to play for their college.

- 'Deeply disturbing': NCAA chief -

In a statement, NCAA president Mark Emmert called the newest charges "deeply disturbing."

"We have no tolerance whatsoever for this alleged behavior. 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," he said.

"We learned of these charges this morning and of course will support the ongoing criminal federal investigation."

Adidas, which competes with other major sports apparel companies like Nike and Under Armour to get their brands worn by top college teams and athletes, also said it only learned of the case on Tuesday morning.

"We're unaware of any misconduct and will fully cooperate with authorities to understand more," Lauren Lamkin, a spokeswoman for Adidas in the United States, said in an email.

Source: AFP