Claire Duffy is doing an update on the arrest of 10 people associate with a pay to play scandal deriving from illegal payments made by adidas Basketball to players and colleges. Jim Gatto, head of adidas Global Basketball, and Merl Code, former Nike exec who now works with adidas, are directly implicated in the two year investigation by the DOJ.
It’s always interesting when these cases show up. The documentary “Schooled” analyzes amateurism at the collegiate level. The level of corruption that exists in high level college athletics is akin to an episode of The Sopranos. The NCAAs’s restrictions on athletes contributes to the cuttthroat world of youth sports.
At almost every level money is thrown at handlers and colleges to move kids towards travel teams and colleges. This case against adidas is a crack in the dam. While it’s speculation I expect a lot of heads to begin rolling as no one is safe when someone has to take a fall. None of the colleges are above reproach and this has been happening for a very long time. It’s not just adidas. @claireduffy will be updating this discussion throughout the day. This is definitely a story to watch.
