As if Michigan State University needed any more additional negative distractions, a just-released report from Yahoo Sports shows that Miles Bridges has a connection in the discovery of names and schools who have received financial advances as well as entertainment and travel expenses covered in violation of NCAA rules.
http://gty.im/919635558
According to expense reports of former prominent NBA agent and his former associate Christian Dawkins, the mother of Bridges received hundreds of dollars in advances.
Miles Bridges’ mother is among those listed in here as having been given a small “loan” before he enrolled at MSU https://t.co/xIF8HKNxHp
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) February 23, 2018
The expense reports also show dinners listed with several high profile names including coach Tom Izzo.
“Yahoo Sports viewed hundreds of pages of documents from the years-long probe that had federal authorities monitoring multiple targets and intercepting more than 4,000 calls across 330 days, providing a clear-eyed view into the pervasive nature of the game’s underground economy.
While three criminal cases tied to the investigation may take years to play out, the documents viewed by Yahoo revealed the extent of the potential NCAA ramifications from the case. The documents show an underground recruiting operation that could create NCAA rules issues – both current and retroactive – for at least 20 Division I basketball programs and more than 25 players.
The documents tie some of the biggest names and programs in the sport to activity that appears to violate the NCAA’s amateurism rules. This could end up casting a pall over the NCAA tournament because of eligibility issues. (NCAA officials declined a request for comment.) There’s potential impermissible benefits and preferential treatment for players and families of players at Duke, North Carolina, Texas, Kentucky, Michigan State, USC, Alabama and a host of other schools. The documents link some of the sport’s biggest current stars – Michigan State’s Miles Bridges, Alabama’s Collin Sexton and Duke’s Wendell Carter – to specific potential extra benefits for either the athletes or their family members. The amounts tied to players in the case range from basic meals to tens of thousands of dollars.”
