Breaking: Major press conference tomorrow , more names/schools in Nike scandal

#33
#33
Anyone else interested in seeing him drop the info on the mighty Nike? It would be like a fire burning two crooked parties down at the same time.

I also wonder how they were able to stop the info from leaking. Not a fan of corporate power using their control to manipulate everything.

Would love to see him and Nike burn together.
 
#36
#36
He is an idiot... but it's been known for over a year now that Ayton was paid to go to Arizona and that Sean Miller is one of the coaches on an FBI wiretap.

I'm sure Ayton was paid to go to AZ. But it doesn't make much sense for Nike to have pushed it, given that Ayton didn't wind up signing with Nike.
 
#37
#37
I'm sure Ayton was paid to go to AZ. But it doesn't make much sense for Nike to have pushed it, given that Ayton didn't wind up signing with Nike.
Ayton signed with Puma in June... it would have been really foolish of Nike to sign him at that point because the full extent of the FBI's investigation had already been made public and Nike knew the FBI had Miller on a wiretap (that info was made public last March) ... Nike needed to cut ties with him at that point. That relationship had become toxic for them.
 
#39
#39
Ayton signed with Puma in June... it would have been really foolish of Nike to sign him at that point because the full extent of the FBI's investigation had already been made public and Nike knew the FBI had Miller on a wiretap (that info was made public last March) ... Nike needed to cut ties with him at that point. That relationship had become toxic for them.

But there is a gap in the threads that tie this together. Miller, like Will Wade, was caught on the wiretap of Christian Dawkins. Dawkins worked with both Adidas and a financial planner to funnel money to the players. But not every kid was tied to Adidas. In some instances, Dawkins was simply working on behalf of his agency and the financial planner. There has been nothing (at least publicly) that ties Dawkins to Nike.
 
#40
#40
But there is a gap in the threads that tie this together. Miller, like Will Wade, was caught on the wiretap of Christian Dawkins. Dawkins worked with both Adidas and a financial planner to funnel money to the players. But not every kid was tied to Adidas. In some instances, Dawkins was simply working on behalf of his agency and the financial planner. There has been nothing (at least publicly) that ties Dawkins to Nike.
The point with Ayton not signing with Nike in June... is that he was seen as damaged goods due to the publicity of this impending scandal. I'm speculating that Nike thought it better to distance themselves as much as they possibly could. There is a lot we don't know. This is the toxic underbelly of college athletics.
 
#41
#41
What exactly is the salient factor that makes this against the law again?

Why exactly is it illegal (not just shady, but illegal) for a college basketball assistant coach to take money from an agent in exchange for steering players on their team to said agent?
 
#42
#42
The point with Ayton not signing with Nike in June... is that he was seen as damaged goods due to the publicity of this impending scandal. I'm speculating that Nike thought it better to distance themselves as much as they possibly could. There is a lot we don't know. This is the toxic underbelly of college athletics.

Solid point. I could definitely see Nike wanting to avoid that mess.

I just don't see any legit implication that Nike was in on Ayton before the FBI blew everything up. I find it difficult to believe the Nike and Adidas would both bid on players thru the same middle-man (Dawkins).
 
#43
#43
Solid point. I could definitely see Nike wanting to avoid that mess.

I just don't see any legit implication that Nike was in on Ayton before the FBI blew everything up. I find it difficult to believe the Nike and Adidas would both bid on players thru the same middle-man (Dawkins).
Right... They weren't both using Dawkins. Thanks to Yahoo, we sort of know what Wade said to him on those wiretaps but we don't know much about what Miller said do we?
 
#44
#44
What exactly is the salient factor that makes this against the law again?

Why exactly is it illegal (not just shady, but illegal) for a college basketball assistant coach to take money from an agent in exchange for steering players on their team to said agent?

They hit the three with wire fraud. When you send funds, you're supposed to detail the ultimate recipient. They obviously couldn't put the players' or coaches' names on the wires.
 
#45
#45
They hit the three with wire fraud. When you send funds, you're supposed to detail the ultimate recipient. They obviously couldn't put the players' or coaches' names on the wires.
So they're busting them on a technicality, essentially?

Having the players' or coaches' names on the wires makes it an obvious violation of NCAA rules, so they concealed the ultimate recipient, which put them in violation of federal law?

Some of these guys were also charged with bribery and money laundering. Given the wire fraud, I guess I can see the money laundering...I suppose from disguising the origin of money obtained from the wire. But bribery? It's shady, yes, and against NCAA rules hell yes, but I still don't see how an assistant getting paid to direct a kid to a particular agent is against federal law. An assistant basketball coach isn't a fiduciary or anybody in charge of any sort of public or legal trust.
 
#46
#46
Right... They weren't both using Dawkins. Thanks to Yahoo, we sort of know what Wade said to him on those wiretaps but we don't know much about what Miller said do we?

No, but we know he was talking to Dawkins. I find it unlikely that Miller would talk to Dawkins about a deal coming from Nike. Dawkins had interests other than Adidas, but they weren't other apparel companies.
 
#47
#47
So they're busting them on a technicality, essentially?

Having the players' or coaches' names on the wires makes it an obvious violation of NCAA rules, so they concealed the ultimate recipient, which put them in violation of federal law?

Yep.

Some of the coaches, however, will be tried on charges of accepting bribes. Can't do that if you're a public employee.
 
#49
#49
So they're busting them on a technicality, essentially?

Having the players' or coaches' names on the wires makes it an obvious violation of NCAA rules, so they concealed the ultimate recipient, which put them in violation of federal law?

Some of these guys were also charged with bribery and money laundering. Given the wire fraud, I guess I can see the money laundering...I suppose from disguising the origin of money obtained from the wire. But bribery? It's shady, yes, and against NCAA rules hell yes, but I still don't see how an assistant getting paid to direct a kid to a particular agent is against federal law. An assistant basketball coach isn't a fiduciary or anybody in charge of any sort of public or legal trust.
The government used what seems like twisted logic here... The government's case against Dawkins and the two Adidas execs was the notion that they were "defrauding" Louisville because their actions made a player (Brian Bowen) ineligible. It's a twisted way of rooting out cheating in a collegiate sport... Probably fair to say they should have better things to do with their resources, I guess.
 
#50
#50
No, but we know he was talking to Dawkins. I find it unlikely that Miller would talk to Dawkins about a deal coming from Nike. Dawkins had interests other than Adidas, but they weren't other apparel companies.
There is a lot we don't know... I wouldn't be surprised if Nike had been trying to lure Ayton to Oregon through some other middle man and Dawkins was aware of it. That appears to have been true for Bowen.
 

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