It’s not easy stealing green
Former NBA player Kermit Washington, who spent the latter portion of the 1977-78 season with the Celtics, pleaded guilty in Kansas City, Mo., to spending thousands of dollars donated to an African charity he organized on jewelry, vacations and other personal items.
Washington, 66, of Las Vegas, was scheduled to go to trial in federal court yesterday but instead had pleaded guilty to two counts of making a false statement in a tax return and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Prosecutors accused Washington of using his position as representative of the National Basketball Players Association to refer professional athletes to Ronald Jack Mix, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and San Diego lawyer who specialized in workers’ compensation cases. Mix filed workers’ compensation cases for the athletes and then donated about $155,000 to Washington’s charity, The Sixth Man Foundation. Mix, 78, pleaded guilty in May 2016 to filing a false tax return.
Washington also admitted that he accepted $82,025 in contributions to his charity from Reza Davachi, 43, which he also diverted for his personal use. The investigation into Washington arose from an earlier federal investigation into pirated software that involved Davachi.
No sentencing date has been set for Washington.
Colleges: Ball to take son out of UCLA
LaVar Ball intends to withdraw son LiAngelo Ball from UCLA, telling the LA Times the move is over dissatisfaction with the handling of the freshman basketball player’s indefinite suspension for his acknowledged role in a shoplifting incident last month in China . . . .
Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield is a Heisman Trophy finalist for the third time, along with reigning Heisman winner and fellow quarterback Lamar Jackson of Louisville and Stanford running back Bryce Love . . . .
Washington State quarterback Luke Falk topped Mayfield to win the Burlsworth Award as the top player who started college as a walk-on . . . .
North Carolina State senior defensive end Bradley Chubb won the Bronko Nagurski Award given to the nation’s top defensive player . . . .
Herm Edwards was introduced as the new football coach at Arizona State. The former NFL coach has been working as an ESPN analyst.
Misc.: MLS MVP goes to Timbers’ Valeri
Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri was named Major League Soccer’s Landon Donovan MVP by vote of the league’s club managers, media members and current players. The Argentinian had 21 goals and 11 assists this season, and he is the first midfielder in league history with 20 or more goals . . . .
The Supreme Court heard arguments in a case where New Jersey is challenging a federal law that bars gambling on sports in most states. If the justices strike down the law, 32 states would likely offer sports betting within five years, according to a California research firm.
Death: NU Hall of Famer Makris
George Makris, a three-sport athlete whose time at Northeastern University was split around military service in World War II, died Sunday at 96. The Hall of Fame inducted Makris in 1983 for both his football feats and his efforts as NU’s director of athletic development.