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Brian Bowen II, a former basketball player from Louisville and South Carolina, suing Adidas.
He also sued many of the company's employees and consultants, including those who have already been convicted in federal court.
Bowen, a former member of the five-star group of the 2017 promotion who has never played match at the university because of his connection to the FBI's investigation of harmful sports recruiting practices , signed with an Australian professional team in August. This decision comes after Bowen's absolute questioning of Bowen's eligibility for the NCAA, as a result of his father's ploy to search for and accept money in return for his son's intended services. to play basketball. Brian Bowen Sr. and Adidas associates, one learned in federal court, had discussed a $ 100,000 payment plan for Bowen II to play in Louisville.
Bowen II finally listed his name in the NBA 2018 project group but was not considered a viable prospect. His father said under oath that he had never talked about this money to his son.
The Charleston, South Carolina-based McLeod legal group brought a lawsuit against racketeering Monday morning on behalf of Bowen II against Adidas America, Inc. and the six men: James Gatto, Merl Code, Christian Dawkins, Munish Sood, Thomas Gassnola and Christopher Rivers.
The lawsuit alleges that Adidas and these men have violated the law on Influence and Corruption Organizations (RICO). It also attempts to establish bribery to the point of terminating Adidas' sponsorship agreements in the amount of one hundred million dollars awarded to the men's basketball teams of Division I. Specifically, in the " "The defendant hereby joins Adidas and its employees, officers, directors, agents, successors, assignees, predecessors who are amalgamated or acquired, parent or controlling entities, subsidiaries and all other persons by acting in concert or in participating in a partnership with the NCAA Division I men's basketball programs. "
The complaint was filed in the US District Court in Charleston, South Carolina.
"Adidas has so far infiltrated college basketball with impunity," said lawyer Mullins McLeod. "The time has come for them to answer for what they have done and to suffer the consequences of their business behavior." Brian is an exceptional young man who is determined to right the situation and do his part to help other student athletes to free themselves from business – a corruption that has no place in university basketball ".
Gatto, Dawkins and Code were convicted on October 24 by a federal jury for involvement in a plot to commit wire fraud. A federal jury decided that these three men were conspiring to defraud universities by influencing the players' commitments to schools which, according to the prosecution, would never have been prosecuted if they had knowledge of the eligibility violations related to said players.
Bowen Sr. was a key witness of the prosecution at trial. He is not named in the pursuit of McLeod. Five of the six men prosecuted were associated with the case in a high profile manner. Gatto, Dawkins and Code were the defendants in the widely publicized October trial. Sood had originally been indicted by the government, but he eventually switched over and became a cooperating witness in that case. The same thing happened for Gassnola, who proved to be the most telling and critical witness of the government in his lawsuit against Gatto, Dawkins and Code.
Rivers, who has not been indicted by the Department of Justice and is not a witness in the first of three trials scheduled in this case, is the new name on the list. Under the sworn testimony of October, Gassnola described Rivers as one of the leaders of Adidas' core basketball operation.
"Adidas has spearheaded this criminal racketeering enterprise to force families of high school basketball players to attend colleges and universities under contract with Adidas to strengthen the brand and increase profits in the highly competitive marketplace." $ 25 billion sports shoes "statement. "Once student athletes, such as Brian, have committed to an Adidas sponsored university, they are required to wear Adidas clothing and allow Adidas to commercialize their image and image for profit."
It's the ineligibility of Bowen II to Louisville that has led most of the story to its beginnings in 2017. The Hall of Fame, Rick Pitino, has been sacked, as well as Louisville Sports Director Tom Jurich. Bowen was immediately seated and finally transferred to South Carolina in the hope that his case would give him a chance to play at the university. But that never happened.
"Unbeknownst to Brian, Adidas and his associates have targeted it as a must-attend event for Adidas' flagship university," says the lawsuit.
The trial can be read here.
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