Top basketball coaches & Adidas executive charged

College playoff scandal

NEW YORK, Sept 27, (AFP): 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. “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.

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.

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.

Fowles, this season’s MVP, dominated the glass a game after the Lynx did not grab a single rebound in the first quarter of their series-opening loss.

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve torched her proud, veteran team on Monday after getting behind 28-2 in the first eight minutes on Sunday. She took little solace in watching them rally to a late lead, saying any pats on the back were from “Loserville”.

The Lynx responded in a major way in Game 2, grabbing a 15-point lead in the first eight minutes. They held Ogwumike and Parker to a combined 0 for 11 in the first half and Los Angeles shot just 28 percent in the first two quarters.

But just like the Lynx didn’t give up in Game 1, the Sparks wouldn’t go away this time. Parker capped an 11-3 run that cut Minnesota’s lead to three with 1:21 to play and Brunson was whistled for a questionable foul on Parker on the next possession. She converted both free throws to make it 70-68 and Maya Moore missed a jumper on the other end.

With Seimone Augustus hounding her, Alana Beard was whistled for a five-second call on the inbounds pass. The Sparks had one more shot, but Gray, who beat the Lynx with a jumper in the final seconds of Game 1, couldn’t come up with the heroics for a second straight game. The Sparks are trying to become the first repeat champions since 2002, and they head home having earned a split at raucous Williams Arena. Anthem statement For the second straight game, the Sparks left the court just before “The Star Spangled Banner” started, a show of support for their NFL brethren who have come under withering criticism from President Donald Trump for using the national anthem as a vehicle to protest social injustice. Himadeep, Prashant Mehta, Saji Joseph, Faheem Contractor, Clifford Crasto and Tanisha Crasto.

The second semifinalists were the New Vision Qatar, a team comprising talented shuttlers Adil Diab, James Cack, Kesit Satrisno, Don Henly, Sanal Kumar, Satheeshan Shine, Shiral Ram, Ramesan Koliyat and Isabelle Villaran.

The detailed results of the tournament are as follows: In the Men’s Open category Shreyansh Jaiswal beat Alvindo Saputra. The semifinalists were Fikri Ihsandi Hadmadi and Abhisekh U. Yeligar.

In the Men’s Open Flight 1, the winners were Alwin Francis and Nanda Gopal Kidambi. They beat Venket Garav and Shreyansh Jaiswal for the crown. The semifinalists were FikriIhsandi Hadmadi, Alvindo Saputra, Sulton Alhakim and Andika F.

Men’s Open Flight 2, the winners were Bastian James and Aneef K. Latheef. The runners-up were SayoojAjayakumar, Bibin Mathew and the semifinalists were Yashin Bose, Bader B. Kalliparambil, Sanju Mathew and Arshad Nv.

Mixed Doubles crown was won by Alwin Francis and Meghana Jakkampudi; the runners-up were Nanda Gopal Kidambi and Tanisha Crasto. The semifinalists were Andika F., Ery Oktavinay, Noufal Karuppam Veetil and Nikka Roda.

In the Mens Doubles Flight 3 (Kuwait Advance Players), the winners were Harshant Kwt and Liju Thomas; the runners-up were Mohammed Nasir and Dadang R. while the semifinalists were Hisham Ezzi, Vasu Shrinivas, Arif Aktar and Vikash Singh.

In the Men’s Veteran’s 45, the winners were Usman Edessery and Bader B Kalliparambil. The runners-up were Dr Manimara Chozhan and Dr Maran T. while the semifinalists were Mohan Menon, Shine P. S., Faheem Contractor and Chandra Mouli.

In the Boys Under-12 Doubles the winners were Surya Manoj and Dhruva Ramesh, the runners-up were Liam Johan Cack and Rajat R. Ramesan, while the semifinalists were Akhil Alex, Chase Sijo, Jack Abraham and Crispin Prabhakar.

In the Boys Under-17 Doubles the winners were Don H. Averia and Emmanuelle J. Buenavidez, the runnersup Sarvesh Raj Kumar and Manas Manoj and the semifinalists Jonathan

In this Oct 20, 2016 file photo, Louisville coach Rick Pitino reacts to a question during an NCAA college basketball press conference in Louisville, Ky.

(AFP)