Former Louisville Cardinals head coach, Rick Pitino. Photo Credit: SI.com
This fall, sports agent Christian Dawkins, along with Adidas executive Jim Gatto and Adidas consultant Merl Code were charged in their roles of allegedly funneling money to families of two University of Louisville basketball recruits.
Additionally, former Auburn assistant basketball coach Chuck Person, Arizona assistant coach Emanuel “Book” Richardson, Oklahoma State assistant coach Lamont Evans and University of South California assistant coach Tony Bland were also charged in connection to the alleged scheme.
An investigation into this case was inevitable. College student athletes are not being paid and should be and universities are making millions off of their labor.
Here’s the billion dollar question in this particular case : What really happened?
Enter tailor, Clarence Jones.C.J.
Jones, a clothier to the stars and owner of Memphis-based, C.J. Custom Clothiers is connected to some of the characters involved. Jones, has designed shirts for Shaq, Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley and suits for Gary Payton, Mason Plumlee and more.
A huge portion of Jones’ clientele are Division 1 athletes in the football and basketball world that are in transit to the next level in the NFL and NBA. The bespoke tailor also works with coaches like Duke assistant coach, Jeff Capel and Wake Forest head coach, Danny Manning.
Add the aforementioned Lamont Evans and Christian Dawkins, headliners in the FBI corruption investigation between NCAA coaches, player reps and the Adidas athletic company to that list.
Appearing recently on the Chicago-based The D & Davis Show, Jones tells hosts, Demonze Spruiel and Kenneth Davis that he does not believe Evans and Dawkins are bad guys. Due to his familiarity with some of these key characters, Jones pokes holes in some basic facts given in the investigation reports.
As per Regal Radio’s Kyle Means:
“A lot of stuff put on [Evans] happened at South Carolina, not Oklahoma State,” Jones told The D & Davis Show.
According to Jones, the investigation is going to be a crazy process in trying to figure out who is lying and telling the truth. While on the show, Jones refutes media reports that indicate Dawkins got Evans his job at Oklahoma St.
Jones also delves into the saga surronding embattled former Louisville men’s basketball coach, Rick Pitino who was placed on an unpaid employment leave from the university and lost $9 million from his place of employment and Adidas, the school’s sponsored apparel company.
“Some things I just don’t see,” Jones told The D & Davis Show. “There’s a lot of ways you can get someone $100,000 better than that.”
The NCAA has not been Louisville’s friend.
In fact, it stripped them of 123 wins, four NCAA tournament appearances and its 2013 men’s basketball national championship after an investigation found that a former Cardinals basketball staffer hired an escort and strippers to entertain recruits.
This was all under Pitino’s watch.
Just last week, per the Washington Post’s Matt Bonesteel, the University of Louisville pleaded its case before the NCAA’s Infractions Appeals Committee in Atlanta, arguing that it should not be stripped.
Also Wednesday, Louisville filed a counter-lawsuit against former men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino, who was fired in October after he was implicated in a federal investigation into college basketball recruiting. Pitino sued the school’s athletic association in November, alleging breach of contract and asking for more than $35 million in pay remaining on his contract.
That’s a lot going into the Christmas holiday week. While you’re tying your bows and wrapping presents, give The D & Davis Show’s interview a listen below. It is quite enlightening.
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