NCAA corruption: Former Adidas exec James Gatto, 2 others get jail time
A federal judge sentenced a former Adidas executive and two other men to jail time on Tuesday for their involvement in facilitating illegal payments meant to influence top college basketball recruits.
Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced the former Adidas executive, James Gatto, to nine months in prison. Business manager Christian Dawkins and Adidas consultant Merl Code each received six-month sentences.
All three men were convicted on wire fraud charges last October. Gatto, Dawkins and Code were accused of funneling money to top basketball recruits and their families in order to push the players to commit to Adidas-sponsored schools, certain financial managers or agents, and, eventually, to sign on as Adidas athletes.
“I deeply regret my actions,” Gatto said during the sentencing hearing.
Prosecutors originally charged 10 people, including several NCAA assistant basketball coaches, in September 2017 for engaging in schemes to improperly influence recruits. Several top programs, including Louisville, North Carolina State and Kansas, were tied to the scandal.
Some top college basketball figures were accused of having knowledge of the payments, including Rick Pitino, who was forced to step down as Louisville’s head coach. Pitino has denied wrongdoing.
Code and Dawkins face a second trial in April for allegedly bribing several assistant coaches to push players toward certain agents or financial advisors. Several assistant coaches implicated in the scandal have accepted plea deals.
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A commission led by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recommended that the NCAA take several steps to prevent future scandals, such as ending the “one-and-done” rule that prevents high school recruits from going straight to the pros and demanding greater transparency from apparel brands such as Nike and Adidas.