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The U.S. Department of Justice today charged four assistant college basketball coaches, two Adidas marketing executives, a clothing company founder and three athletic advisers, alleging a web of illegal activity among top-tier schools with Adidas sponsorships.
The Justice Department claims that Adidas director of global sports marketing James “Jim” Gatto, along with another Adidas employee, Merl Code, and several other people paid bribes to high school basketball players and their families.
The four NCAA assistant coaches named in the indictment include Auburn University’s Chuck Connors Person, Lamont Evans of Oklahoma State University, Emanuel Richardson of University of Arizona and Anthony Bland of the University of Southern California.
According to a document released today and authored by the FBI agent who conducted the investigation, the understanding was that the students would attend schools sponsored by Adidas on scholarships and then sign contracts with the company when they went professional.
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