RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal fraud and bribery scandal shaking college basketball has led to a key question of what will happen to recruits who received money linked to attending certain schools.
It could mean the permanent loss of college eligibility for some players for violating a core NCAA rule prohibiting improper benefits. But there’s also the chance that some ineligible players could go through the NCAA’s reinstatement process and eventually play after sitting out some games.
“Some of them will possibly not play depending on how large the benefits or inducements were,” said Michael L. Buckner, a Florida-based attorney who has worked on infractions cases. “Others, it’s going to impact them some, some of them may have to be withheld (from games). But I think overall, they’re going to have that stigma that they were involved in this fraud and corruption scandal.”
The case went public Tuesday, with federal prosecutors announcing that 10 men — including a top Adidas executive and four assistant coaches at power-conference programs — were charged with using hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to influence star athletes’ choice of schools, shoe sponsors and agents.