Illegal payments were funneled to families of Louisville, Kansas and North Carolina State recruits.
NEW YORK — Three men received prison sentences Tuesday in the widespread college basketball recruiting scandal that has tainted two dozen schools.
Former Adidas ADDYY, +0.22% ADS, +0.32% executive James Gatto, business manager Christian Dawkins and amateur league director Merl Code were convicted in October of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for funneling illegal payments to families of recruits to Louisville, Kansas and North Carolina State.Prosecutors say coaches teamed up with Gatto and others to trade hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to influence star athletes’ choice of schools, shoe sponsors, agents and even tailors.
NCAA President Mark Emmert has said an independent enforcement body to adjudicate major infractions cases could be in place by August. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said he sympathized with the argument that the defendants were being punished when others who did similar things were not being prosecuted. Nonetheless, he said, “These defendants all knew what they were doing was wrong.”“I deeply regret my actions,” Gatto said in a shaky voice.
Dawkins referenced “social dysfunction” in college basketball and said his actions were “clouded” by a “system that takes advantage of kids.”Code said he also regretted his actions but added, “Some things really got to be changed about college basketball.”
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