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The 2017-18 NCAA Basketball was marked with controversy following the firing of Louisville coach Rick Pitino and the adidas brand’s involvement regarding payment to players in exchange for attending Three Stripe sponsored schools.
While other coaches and brands would also come under accusation — it’s not just adidas — the company made the news for the wrong reasons due to their ties to said investigation. They do again today as Thomas “T.J.” Gassnola — former director of adidas AAU program New England Playaz — pled guilty to federal wire fraud charges. In addition, he also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the government’s NCAA basketball bribery case.
“Prior to being charged, the defendant participated in numerous proffer sessions during which he has disclosed his criminal activities and those of others,” prosecutors said of Gassnola, as reported by SGB Online. “The government anticipates that grand jury subpoenas may be issued based on information provided by the defendant, and that information provided by the defendant may also be presented to a grand jury in this district for purposes of obtaining an indictment.”
Since the Louisville story first broke in the fall, adidas has launched an internal investigation regarding bribery and fraud within their company in connection to NCAA and AAU basketball. As alluded to before, it is very likely that other brands will come under fire for similar situations. The NCAA also faces potentially changing times as there is talk of changing the “1 and Done” culture that’s resulted from the NBA’s age limit.
Keep it locked to Nice Kicks for updates on this case.
