USA Today calling out LSU booster. . .that no one is talking about
Guy gets a shade under 3 years for embezzlement to pay the father of a player. But hey National Championship!
If the NCAA doesn't get off their ass, College Football will be about as legit as Professional Wrestling in short order.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:00 PM ^
This delegitimizes the NCAA more than it does college football. I see those as two very different things.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:15 PM ^
To me it hits college football as I've kind of given up on the NCAA previously. But it just seems like the top 5-6 teams get ALL the top recruits because of things like this, and other teams barely have a chance. 3 teams went undefeated this year and in the prior year. In the BCS era, I think that happened only once, the year auburn was 3rd.
Takes all the fun out of it, so I don't really get excited over what happens in the regular season anymore. If LSU or OSU had lost a random game during the year, they probably still would have been in.
On the bright side, I don't get all worked up if Harbaugh goes 9-3.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:09 PM ^
College football has no intrigue to it anymore and the top teams get all the recruits and will stay on top of the NCAA doesn’t take action against them.
Been saying it for awhile and not sure why some people don’t get it. The playing field is not level and a team like UM and many others can not compete with what some schools get away with. We will continue 9-3 seasons because we play be different rules and that is actually solid seasons. People need to get off their high horse with this non sense since we are Michigan we should just do better. With bagmen and on line classes or just not going to class we can’t compete with it
I don’t say this to bitch it’s just a fact and unless we want to become OSU and not follow rules it won’t change I would love to see us win it all but in today’s landscape it’s not happening
January 14th, 2020 at 1:41 PM ^
Facts.
Boosters run CFB.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:21 PM ^
I think the whole "ya gotta go to class" thing is a vastly underrated drag on our recruiting, maybe as important as the whole "bagman" deficit. Sure, we get some high-character guys who actually embrace the academic environment of a placer like Michigan, but most of these guys just want to play football and get laid until they can go to the NFL.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:11 PM ^
Oh my, corruption in amateur athletics? What WILL the church elders say????
January 14th, 2020 at 12:20 PM ^
something like "These dances and this kind of music can be destructive, and, uh, Ren, I'm afraid you're going to find most of the people in our community are gonna agree with me on this." ?
January 14th, 2020 at 12:23 PM ^
They probably can't enunciate given their full mouths....
January 14th, 2020 at 2:00 PM ^
They’d probably be pretty upset since the dude stole money that belonged to cancer patients...
Im down for paying players... not via embezzling funds from a cancer foundation tho.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:57 PM ^
I'm a church elder and this is what I say:
1 Timothy 5:18: For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”
January 14th, 2020 at 12:12 PM ^
The crux of the issue here is that he's in trouble for embezzling money, not for paying the players.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:18 PM ^
Did you read the article? Among the reasons Funes got caught? He had directed $180,000 of the foundation’s money to the father of Vadal Alexander, an LSU offensive lineman at the time, as part of a scheme to make it appear as though the father was working for the foundation.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:46 PM ^
I think what he meant is that the booster is in trouble because of the crimiinal act of embezzlement but there is no action related to his proven gross violation of NCAA rules.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:04 PM ^
I think the crux of the issue is he used that money to pay a recruits dad. That's my point. That's the point of the article, in the OP. Boosters don't get in trouble for paying players, Players do.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:19 PM ^
The sad thing is that all he would have to do is have the guy show up at the foundation headquarters like once a month (if it's not a P.O. Box) and then he could have demonstrated evidence of his "consulting" work.
The difference between embezzlement and legally funneling money to someone for doing nothing is a matter of crossing t's and dotting i's. What this guy did was not abnormal and is probably not rare in the CFB world—he only got in trouble because he was sloppy.
This is why you should never give money to charities unless you have done your research on them. My conservative guess is that 50%+ of charities primarily exist to enrich the people running them and 90%+ of foundations are tax shelters. If you're considering donating to a charity, look up their tax documents (these are publicly available) and prepare to be disappointed in humanity.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:41 PM ^
That's a very conservative guess imho. I'd struggle to name a half dozen "charities" that don't exist just to pay the people that work there. I'm about to find out this week if an organization I worked with 25 years ago is still as mission oriented now as they were then. I'm prepared to be disappointed, but you never know.
I stopped giving money to charities a long time ago. The only person you are helping is the guy who cuts you off in traffic driving the BMW.
January 14th, 2020 at 8:37 PM ^
I used to work in a corporation that spent a ridiculous amount of time and effort pushing the annual United Way drive.
They had departmental goals that were used to drive an internal competition to see which department gave the most and what % of employees gave. Above a certain level, giving was mandatory and the more you gave the better it was for your career.
If you were misguided enough to donate, they would simply push you to donate more next year. They made it so convenient you could have HR/Payroll garnish the money from your paycheck prior to the direct deposit hitting your bank account. Neat.
In recent years, they caught wise to the idea that people weren't giving because they (correctly) thought the money was enriching the United Way, so they came up with all kinds of convoluted presentations and internal seminars about how the money really was going to the needy and how giving more was the best thing since sliced bread.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:16 PM ^
Former LSU employee Mark Emmert.
That they tried to use a childrens charity for this is repugnant. Pay players I don't care but money laundering it through a purported charity is one of the lowest things Ive seen
January 14th, 2020 at 1:25 PM ^
Do you actually believe that most "children's charities" actually help children?
January 14th, 2020 at 12:18 PM ^
Did you guys know that in the state of Michigan a statute on the books since 1931 makes adultery a felony — punishable by a maximum sentence of four years in prison and possibly a $5,000 fine?
It's true. Think anybody knows or even cares about? Do you see any evidence that it's enforced?
My point is recruiting "violations" only matter if both sides (the NCAA and the schools the govern) agree it's a violation. If they dont (and it would certainly appear no one cares) then it's just paying for services rendered, no different than the job we are at today.
No one cares people. NO ONE.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:21 PM ^
If those payments arent taxed properly someone does in fact care. But you are right that the whole “Team bends rules to win” aspect of it isnt really of importance to anyone.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:24 PM ^
Only if the person receiving the payment doesnt declare it on their 1099 and pay the required taxes on it. If they do it's all above board from the IRS perspective.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:54 PM ^
well, athletic departments are tax exempt organizations.. . .
O$U's athletic department has been recently valued as a $1.5 billion dollar franchise. Or 300,000 acts of adultery. ..
That could have financed the athens food pantry that Joe Burrow mentioned in his Heisman speech.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:25 PM ^
That is an interesting angle. Perhaps the IRS can enforce the tax code and unearth untaxed income.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:44 PM ^
That's a good one -- the IRS enforcing the tax code against a fraudulent charitable foundation!
January 14th, 2020 at 12:26 PM ^
Ah, there's the crux. Because the NCAA cares, but it's selective caring.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:28 PM ^
funny, i thought i was the only one who knew that. as an aside, it must be reported within one year. never seen it done, but would be fun to watch one.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:36 PM ^
Dude got 33 months in federal prison. So, someone cares...
January 14th, 2020 at 4:23 PM ^
Some people do care - just not enough of them.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:58 PM ^
Forget adultery, I hear Ingham county has the market cornered on doling out "Seduction" charges.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:22 PM ^
I'll just leave this line here.
"If a booster stealing from a cancer charity to pay off the father of a starting offensive lineman doesn’t move the needle anymore, maybe it’s time to find a new rulebook."
January 14th, 2020 at 12:23 PM ^
LSU should not be the focus of this story here. They're a side player in the story.
The bigger issue is that a booster stole nearly a million dollars from a CANCER CHARITY to pay a player's family. These are the kind of crimes that are most important for the NCAA and schools to investigate and punish. Morally, it's one thing to tolerate voluntary payments from rich dudes to the players for their favorite school, and a whole different think when guys have to steal, lie, and cheat to get the cash that they launder to the players. There are parallels with Ed Martin, who was in legal trouble because he was running an illegal lottery in order to finance his payments to the basketball players.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:45 PM ^
I believe you have this backwards regarding Ed Martin. He was using players to launder money he made illegally. He wasn't making money illegally so that he could pay players. And he wasn't paying players to go to Michigan. He had access to players that attended Michigan and/or were from the Detroit area. He used the players to launder money.
January 14th, 2020 at 7:51 PM ^
You're right, thanks for pointing it out, I admit my characterization was incorrect. However, the broader point stands, I think, that when big money changing hands all has to be done under the table, it's going to attract shady characters.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:41 PM ^
Pay the players, expand the playoffs so it's not the same three teams and one random, and this monopoly on recruiting goes away. IMO
January 14th, 2020 at 2:43 PM ^
Today:
College 1: You can come play for the glory of the game.
College 2: We'll pay you $200K to play here.
The Future:
College 1: We'll pay you $200K to play here and you will enjoy the glory of the game.
College 2: We'll pay you $400K to play here.
How will paying the players make a difference in cheating? A kid willing to take $200K more will take $200K more.
January 14th, 2020 at 9:11 PM ^
We have a bigger money cannon than most schools. We should be paying the players more than the other schools.
I'm tired of hearing about other schools doing it and not us. Fuck, if the NCAA isn't going to punish it then we should level the playing field ourselves.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:50 PM ^
I'm about to move on from college football for the same reason I stopped watching pro football years ago. This is no longer a bunch of college kids playing their hearts out on the field for their team. It is becoming a bunch of semi-pro players in it for the money and what they can get out of it... hence the increasing number of players in the transfer portal.
I will still watch and root for Michigan, but I don't expect that we will become the same type of farm club that OSU, Alabama, and others have now become. I'm not upset about this, I just think that it is unrealistic to expect that we will compete with these schools while we allow things like money (not paying recruits to join the team), character, and academics to get in the way. I hate that the game has changed so much, and I am not advocating that we join the club.
I'm ready, neg away...
January 14th, 2020 at 1:19 PM ^
Players got smarter and realized that once football was over these schools/teams don't give a damn.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:36 PM ^
This is where I find myself also. I have no real interest in watching guys play for money (where they bounce around to the highest bidder and there is no deeper meaning/connection between the players and the program). That doesn't mean I will avoid it completely - if an NFL game is on now, for instance, I might watch but I will not go out of my way to do it (nor pay to see it).
I will, however, actively follow/attend sporting events that mean something more (such as the Olympics due to national pride) - which includes watching students from UM (my alma mater) play for school pride. However, as the progression into the NFL-lite continues I will probably still watch the games but stop committing my time and money to going in person and buying merchandise. I'm sure no one else will care, but I'll be saddened when the times.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:59 PM ^
This is pretty sleazy but unfortunately no one really cares and that's the way it is now. But at the same time - the author of the article seems unreasonably shocked that this slipped under the radar and hasn't been mentioned during LSU's championship run. But 1) it was 5 years ago, before the current coaching staff was there and 2) involved one player (in fact, his father), so I'm not really surprised it hasn't gotten much traction. It's like the guy just started following college football. This is a media apparatus that fell all over itself to talk about "healing" when Penn State made it back to the Rose Bowl, as if that's what really matters.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:25 PM ^
No one is talking about it because no one cares. Michigan fans have way more outrage about this stuff than just about any other fanbase. With everything going on in the world, I seriously question the moral compass of someone who spends their energy opposing THIS.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:37 PM ^
College football is already less legit than professional wrestling.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:23 PM ^
Paid Recruit = Vadal Alexander / 6-5 / 325lb / 4.5 star / 4 year starter / Freshman All-American
Bags of cash matter folks, especially when prying a top Georgia recruit from the Dawgs. LSU knew this was going on ... payments are probably ongoing.
Sad thing is Vadal flamed out with the Raiders ... drug problem.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:28 PM ^
Westside Barbell in Columbus n their innovative methods to hide roids plays into this formula of cash, peds, espn bias all leading to sec, Clemson, and da Ohio domination.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:50 PM ^
Why the Pro Wrestling line? The results are pre-determined, not fixed, and no one is cheating (except Ric Flair, “If You Ain't Cheating, You ain't Trying, Woo!.)
January 14th, 2020 at 4:00 PM ^
anyone who watched the 2016 (17) Michigan/O$U game would beg to differ.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:14 PM ^
This is why everyone in D1 should be want to see players get paid to some degree. It is obvious that many players are already paid and its just a uneven playing field now for everyone else
The rosters we saw in the title game last night are built on booster money. Michigan will never get there under the current system
January 14th, 2020 at 3:22 PM ^
So if they talked about it last week, would they say LSU has an advantage over CLEMSON!!!! because they pay players and broke rules? Chuckle, chuckle.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:38 PM ^
I mean Ive just accepted that the entire SEC cheats and will NEVER been held accountable..just is what it is...its like common knowledge...I live in SEC territory and its like they dont even care if they get caught anymore..they will just get a slap on the wrist anyways