NCAA bribery scandal widens, alleges payment to parents
In this Oct. 26, 2016, file photo, North Carolina State NCAA college basketball player Dennis Smith, Jr. answers a question during the Atlantic Coast Conference media day in Charlotte, N.C. Credit: AP / Bob Leverone
Kansas and North Carolina State are the latest schools to be swept up in a bribery scandal involving college basketball.
A rewritten federal indictment released Tuesday in New York alleges that an adidas official paid parents of athletes willing to commit to the schools.
Documents released on Tuesday don’t name any N.C. State players or coaches. But details in them make it clear the player involved is Dennis Smith, Jr., who played for the Wolfpack in the 2016-17 season before entering the NBA draft. According to the FBI investigation, adidas executive James Gatto conspired to funnel $40,000 to Smith’s father to secure Smith’s commitment to N.C. State. The FBI pointed out that N.C. State was under contract with adidas at the time.
Prosecutors say an adidas representative also agreed to pay $90,000 to the family of a Kansas recruit. On Aug. 30, 2017, the same day Silvio De Sousa announced he would play at KU, court documents say the prospect announced, in a “surprise” decision, he would not attend a school sponsored by a rival apparel company but would instead enroll at Kansas. Court documents also say the prospect signed financial aid paperwork with Kansas on Nov. 13, 2017, which is the same day KU announced De Sousa had signed to play basketball for the Jayhawks.
According to the charges, the payments were designed to be concealed from Kansas and the NCAA.
Prosecutors say money helped secure the players’ commitments to play college basketball at the schools and ensured the North Carolina State recruit signed an adidas sponsorship deal when he entered the NBA. He entered the draft last June.
