We have our first convictions in the great NCAA Basketball shoe scandal of 2017. (Previously.)
There’s a little more editorial commentary mixed in with the reporting than I’d like, but this is noteworthy:
Though the verdicts’ larger impact on college basketball was not immediately clear, after Wednesday the following may be safely said: There is precedent that cheating N.C.A.A. bylaws can have consequences beyond collegiate infractions.
“Now you don’t just have to worry about what the N.C.A.A. does to you — you have to worry about going to jail,” said Dan Beebe, a former Big 12 commissioner who consults with conferences.
Personally, I’d like to see the N.C.A.A forcibly disbanded, but sending people to prison is a good alternative.
Also worth noting, but with a grain of salt: one of the defense attorneys claims that Rick Pitino and Bill Self (Kansas basketball coach, who is still employed) knew what was going on.
…
The three men charged in the case had pleaded not guilty, and none of them took the stand. Their primary defense was that their behavior may have violated N.C.A.A. bylaws, but that it was not a federal crime.
“N.C.A.A. rules were broken,” Michael Schachter, one of Gatto’s attorneys, said in his opening argument. “Jim and Adidas helped out financially a few families whose sons are among the most talented athletes in America. That happened.”
However, he added: “The N.C.A.A.’s rules are not the laws of this country. The N.C.A.A. is not the U.S. Congress.”