4 NCAA Basketball Coaches Charged With Taking Bribes

[–] TheRedArmy 2 points (+2|-0)

"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 advisers circling blue-chip prospects like coyotes, and employees of a global sportswear company funneling cash to families of high school recruits," he said.

"He said," to the surprise of no one.

I don't think this kind of stuff is particularly rampant, but I also think you're fooling yourself if you think things like this are isolated cases. I remember some years back (perhaps 6 or 7) about it coming about that Tennessee had some group of girls who would basically sleep with prospects who had come to campus to check out the university. No idea what the girls got out of the deal, but it was a specific, organized effort, and many people were involved in it (also there was no coercion involved, from what I understood - all the girls were acting willingly, I believe).

That's a bit of an extreme case, but there's waaaaaaaay too much money on the table to expect agents, "managers", coaches, unis, and, in particular, players, to just sit back and not get involved in these sorts of deals. The players are the ones who really miss out too. More than a few college athletes come from poor backgrounds, sometimes broken households, where their single parent is struggling to just keep a roof over their heads. They've busted ass their whole lives to try and get into college on a scholarship, because they sure as hell won't be able to pay for it, and now, NCAA regulations keep you from ever profiting from your athletic contributions, in any way, ever. Rules are more strict for athletes than they are for normal students.

So You got to college, but your family is still struggling back home, so then one of your coaches says he can hook you up with an agent who can maybe get you some cash on the DL, sign you on some deals where you can get some money. And you know immediately what these guys are thinking - if they come from those hard backgrounds like that, they immediately think how they can take care of their parent, who worked so hard for them, now that they're in. They can make some money to pay for all the extra expenses a scholarship doesn't cover, they can be a little more comfortable, they can take care of their family for the first time in their life. And all they have to do it break some shitty, outdated NCAA bylaws that had no business existing in the first place. Of course they take the deal.

> "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 advisers circling blue-chip prospects like coyotes, and employees of a global sportswear company funneling cash to families of high school recruits," he said. "He said," to the surprise of no one. I don't think this kind of stuff is particularly rampant, but I also think you're fooling yourself if you think things like this are isolated cases. I remember some years back (perhaps 6 or 7) about it coming about that Tennessee had some group of girls who would basically sleep with prospects who had come to campus to check out the university. No idea what the girls got out of the deal, but it was a specific, organized effort, and many people were involved in it (also there was no coercion involved, from what I understood - all the girls were acting willingly, I believe). That's a bit of an extreme case, but there's _waaaaaaaay_ too much money on the table to expect agents, "managers", coaches, unis, and, in particular, players, to just sit back and not get involved in these sorts of deals. The players are the ones who really miss out too. More than a few college athletes come from poor backgrounds, sometimes broken households, where their single parent is struggling to just keep a roof over their heads. They've busted ass their whole lives to try and get into college on a scholarship, because they sure as hell won't be able to pay for it, and now, NCAA regulations keep you from _ever profiting from your athletic contributions, in any way, ever_. Rules are more strict for athletes than they are for normal students. So You got to college, but your family is still struggling back home, so then one of your coaches says he can hook you up with an agent who can maybe get you some cash on the DL, sign you on some deals where you can get some money. And you know immediately what these guys are thinking - if they come from those hard backgrounds like that, they immediately think how they can take care of their parent, who worked so hard for them, now that they're in. They can make some money to pay for all the extra expenses a scholarship doesn't cover, they can be a little more comfortable, they can take care of their family for the first time in their life. And all they have to do it break some shitty, outdated NCAA bylaws that had no business existing in the first place. Of course they take the deal.

[–] Greenseats [OP] 2 points (+2|-0)

Yep, all the while, the people trying to keep you from making any money -- schools, NCAA -- are directly profiting from your athletic talent. The coaches make huge salaries directly from the school, but unlike the athletes they can also use their position as a coach to profit outside of the job by holding clinics/camps, writing books, and selling autographed merchandise.

4 NCAA Basketball Coaches Charged With Taking Bribes

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