Adidas has been a household name across North America for decades and one that many people trust and even cherish. From running shoes to sweatpants, Adidas is most famous for its three-stripe trademark logo and high-quality sportswear.
However, following a series of complaints made public by federal investigators recently, Adidas executives, as well as college assistant team coaches, are finding themselves in hot water with allegations of bribes and corruption.
Black Market
The numerous complaints, made public in New York, allege that behind the scenes a thriving black market is booming. Apparently, young athletes as well as coaches, agents and financial advisors, trade on budding players’ trust, exploiting their inability to receive compensation due to loopholes in N.C.A.A. amateurism rules and procedures.
Case in Point
One example of the corruption is a major university where a sports agent arranged for the men’s basketball team and a hot high school prospect to receive more than $100,000 if he committed to the school and agreed to sign with Adidas if and when he turned pro.
More Corruption
At another large college, the associate head coach of the basketball team allegedly accepted $100,000 to ensure his team’s top players were assigned to a financial advisor who would manage their future fortunes. Essentially, the deal is that for steering players in the “right direction,” huge sums of cash would be filtered to assistant coaches who towed the line, taking bribes for ensuring players ended up sponsoring the “right” brand.
Open Admittance
One of the sports agents in this case, as reported by The New York Times, even spoke openly about the corruption scandal, admitting it was illegal. “Some of it can’t be completely accounted for on paper,” said the unnamed sports agent, “because some of it is, whatever you want to call it, illegal.” But federal attorneys and others decided that the game was up and that it was time to blow this scandal out of the water.
Business Investment
Even though it’s supposed to be all about the sport, nothing could be further from the truth. As the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Joon H. Kim explained: “For these men, bribing coaches was a business investment.” That’s the reason charges of bribery and fraud are being brought. Kim went on to explain things to reporters in more detail.
Big Bucks
According to Kim, “They knew corrupt coaches, in return for bribes, would pressure the players to use their services. They also knew that if and when those young players turned pro, that would mean big bucks for them.” It’s for that reason that Kim, and others, are calling the revelations “the dark underbelly of college basketball.” It was time for arrests to be made and charges to be brought.
Dozens Implicated
As a result of the investigation so far, dozens of people have been arrested and hauled in for questioning. These people include four Division I assistant coaches, as well as the global marketing director of Adidas basketball himself. The other issue is that the N.C.A.A. relies heavily on its annual tournaments for the vast majority of its income.
Scheme One
Two schemes were implicated, which could cost a lot of people not only their jobs but also some jail time as well as hefty fines. One scheme involved bribing four assistant coaches from Arizona, Auburn, Oklahoma State, and Southern California. These were all part of the so-called Power 5 conferences of college sports, essentially persuading players to give their business to specific financial advisors to manage them at the pro level when they got there.
Scheme Two
The other scheme related to efforts of funneling funds from Adidas to three players and their families in exchange for promises of commitment to play at Adidas-sponsored college programs and to later sign with the sports giant after going pro. Both of these schemes are highly illegal on numerous levels.
“Player-10”
Allegedly, in the second scheme, Jim Gatto, a senior exec at Adidas, agreed to pay $100,000 to the family of “Player-10.” This player was a seriously talented young man who showed great potential for the future. As such, he was steered through various bribes to a specific unnamed college. Many people have surmised that the match was with the University of Louisville, which recently signed a 10-year, $160 million clothing contract with Adidas.
Claiming Innocence
When The New York Times approached Adidas for a statement about the fact that one of their employees was arrested for corruption, they said “Today, we became aware that federal investigators arrested an Adidas employee. We are learning more about the situation. We’re unaware of any misconduct and will fully cooperate with authorities to understand more.” While full cooperation with authorities is questionable, Adidas will certainly understand a whole lot more pretty soon about the ongoing investigation.
Serious Concerns
Meanwhile, Louisville’s interim president, Gregory C. Postel, also confirmed to the press that his university was involved in the investigation. “While we are just learning about this information,” he said, “this is a serious concern that goes to the heart of our athletic department and the university.” Postel also confirmed that his university was, “committed to ethical behavior and adherence to N.C.A.A. rules.”
More Controversy
In another damning claim, payments to other players’ families were discussed. In one case, a player who was yet to begin his junior year of high school was slated to receive $150,000 to enroll at an Adidas-sponsored college. Officials from the university said they would cooperate fully with investigators if the allegations were brought before them.
Open Corruption
While it’s a shame that the good sport of college basketball has been tainted by these allegations, facts are facts, and they simply couldn’t be denied any longer. One open case of corruption relates to Chuck Person, the associate head coach at Auburn, who allegedly solicited bribes from at least one financial advisor, agreeing to steer specific players on his team to specific advisors. Person accepted just under $100,000 for his troubles and is alleged to have given $18,500 to the families of the players involved.
Caught off Guard
At the same time, Mark Emmert, president of the N.C.A.A. said he was caught off guard by the allegations but pledged his full support for the investigations. “Coaches hold a unique position of trust with student-athletes and their families,” Emmert explained, “and these bribery allegations, if true, suggest an extraordinary and despicable breach of that trust,” he added.
Renewed Debate
The shocking revelations mean that a renewed debate is imminent regarding two specific rules which are part and parcel of college basketball. One is the restrictions imposed by the N.C.A.A. on compensation due to antitrust lawsuits. The other is what’s known as the “one-and-done rule” which prohibits N.B.A. players and its unions from entering the N.B.A before the age of 19.
Necessary Rules
Before these particular rules were implemented, the very best high school players were entitled to simply join the N.B.A. and to receive a full salary, while not having to even think twice about the contradictory N.C.A.A. rules. This all created an environment where players showing the best potential for the future could be bribed illegally, to take part in the various schemes mentioned above; all in the name of earning big but highly illegal bucks.
Undercover Sting
While there were cooperating witnesses who the Securities and Exchange Commission had used, there were also wiretaps which were employed to uncover the people involved in the bribes. Interestingly though, the allegations were all brought against assistant head coaches and not against a single head coach, but why?
Making too Much
One defendant explained in an audio recording of a secret meeting during the sting operation that head coaches “ain’t willing” to take bribes, “they’re making too much money. And it’s too risky,” said Christian Dawkins. And that makes sense as it simply isn’t worth the time and hassle for head coaches who make a serious annual salary with some hefty bonuses on top.
Tip of the Iceberg
No one assumes that the complaints will stop here as investigators gear up for more allegations of wrongdoing and bribery. The whole debacle has cast a bad light on college basketball, and it seems clear that many more corrupt officials, both within Adidas and at the college level will be implicated, arrested and charged with manipulating young players for their own financial gains.
Adidas Exec Facing Charges Following Alleged Bribes Scandal is an article from: LifeDaily