Lawyers hope to judge college basketball in FBI case

Given the amount of evidence to support – documents, wiretapping, CCTV, etc. – the accused have little sense in challenging the facts of the federal government. Instead, their lawyers try to rephrase the argument by putting the trial of college basketball to the test; exposing the extent of its corruption and exploitation underlying its financial model.

Smart movement. And in a jury trial, maybe a winner.

"The rules of the NCAA have been broken," said Gatto's lawyer, Casey Donnelly, in his opening statement. "We will not waste your time pretending that these families have not received funds … (But) the rules of the NCAA are not the laws of the land."

As to point out the extent of college basketball corruption, prospective jurors were asked about their links with a dozen different schools. In addition to those already involved, defense lawyers said they would present evidence that the University of Oregon had offered an "astronomical" amount to attract Brian Bowen, the American McDonald's who is finally registered in Louisville.

Bowen's story is at the center of the affair and will be subject to reactions from both sides. Attorney Steve Haney said Louisville had "solicited" Dawkins to break the NCAA rules in recruiting Bowen and cited the school's probative status as a sign that his main concern was not to cheat but to get caught.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, describe U of L as a victim of a plot between Gatto, Code and Dawkins; Alleging that the three men had conspired to try to channel money to Bowen's father, Brian Sr. had instructed him to hide the arrangement to U of L. Bowen Sr. had agreed to testify under immunity granted.

Also: Louisville AD Vince Tyra says that he was not asked to testify in the hoop trial

The Bowen case also featured prominently in Wednesday's proceedings. Dan Wetzel, of Yahoo Sports, reporting the scene, recounted a recorded conversation between Code and Dawkins that aired in the courtroom.

Code: "If you ask Rick Pitino if he knows what happened (with Bowen), he will say he does not know it."

Dawkins: "Probably not."

Code: "He knows it. He does not know everything … plausible denial. "

"I would not know this code if it was in front of me," Pitino said via SMS on Wednesday night. "I never knew that he was working for Adidas. Only heard his name years ago working for Nike. … I never talked to Code, so whatever he says, I would say it's a fraud. "

Under-the-table payments, which are part of the culture of university basketball, are not disputed. Donnelly said Arizona had offered $ 150,000 to American McDonald's Nassir Little and that Gatto had paid $ 20,000 to Silvio De Sousa to travel to Kansas to offset the $ 20,000 invested by Under Armor for Maryland.

Presumably, this results in many more benefits, and at least some modified tax returns that have been produced accordingly. Presumably, the NCAA will have a multi-year backlog of infringement cases each time the federal government is finished.

Context: A trial should explore the "belly" of recruitment in university basketball

When the US District Attorney for the Southern District of New York revealed for the first time the results of an ongoing FBI investigation in September 2017, the extent of university basketball corruption did not surprise observers relatives. It is still unclear how many schools and coaches will be involved in the scandal by sworn testimony or by the signing by their authors of agreements with prosecutors.

As more schools and coaches are involved in NCAA offenses, the accused may appear to be more of a low level facilitator than independent criminals. At the same time, prosecutors may have difficulty showing that NCAA membership can be presumed innocent when the system it has put in place generates billions of dollars at the expense of a non-labor force. while depriving third parties of the right to establish financial relations with promising partners. athletes.

The stench of college basketball is so strong that blaming a small operator like Christian Dawkins is tantamount to an act of cynicism. The fact that prosecutors offered Dawkins a plea agreement suggests that they were targeting a larger target. The fact that Dawkins rejected this agreement to try his luck in the courts could say a lot about the strength of the government's record.