Yahoo! Sports released a bombshell report that shocked the college basketball world early Friday morning. The report implicated a host of high profile schools in allegations that they provided payments and other benefits to star recruits.
The two shadowy figures said to have been most involved in the scandal are Andy Miller, an NBA agent and founder of ASM Sports, and his associate Christian Dawkins.
According to Yahoo! Sports, the two gave payments to high school and college basketball players. This includes the #1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft and former Washington guard Markelle Fultz, who reportedly received $10,000.
The following schools were accused in some manner in the Yahoo! Sports report:
Louisville
North Carolina
Michigan State
Duke
Kentucky
Washington
Virginia
Wichita State
Xavier
Notre Dame
North Carolina State
LSU
Maryland
Texas
Kansas
South Carolina
Alabama
USC
Iowa State
Clemson
Utah
Creighton
Vanderbilt
Texas
Seton Hall
A lot of big names among that group. Famous coaches John Calipari, Roy Williams, Tom Izzo, and Mike Krzyzewski could soon find themselves in a similar position as former Louisville head coach Rick Pitino--in deep trouble.
NCAA President Mark Emmert released a statement in response to the report that read, “These allegations, if true, point to systematic failures that must be fixed and fixed now if we want college sports in America. Simply put, people who engage in this kind of behavior have no place in college sports. They are an affront to all those who play by the rules. Following the Southern District of New York’s indictments last year, the NCAA Board of Governors and I formed the independent Commission on College Basketball, chaired by Condoleezza Rice, to provide recommendations on how to clean up the sport. With these latest allegations, it’s clear this work is more important now than ever. The Board and I are completely committed to making transformational changes to the game and ensuring all involved in college basketball do so with integrity. We also will continue to cooperate with the efforts of federal prosecutors to identify and punish the unscrupulous parties seeking to exploit the system through criminal acts.” (Via NCAA.org)
What amazes me is that the NCAA President can release a statement like this and pretend that he and the rest of the NCAA brass are not part of the same hypocrisy that these schools are.
The NCAA is an extremely wealthy organization; they make hundreds of millions dollars from march madness alone. The athletic directors, coaches, and schools all get filthy rich off of the services of players who can’t even sell their own autographs (or else the big bad NCAA will come vacate their wins and awards). It’s not like these players have a choice, as the NBA no longer allows players to come straight out of high school. Thus, players like Markelle Fultz have little choice but to go play for the corrupt NCAA.
The question of whether or not college athletes should be paid or compensated in some form is a fascinating one and will certainly be at the forefront of discussion in the wake of this scandal, but what cannot be morally justified is the fact that these athletes are making other people rich while they’re left with nothing at all.
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