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| Mizzou head coach Frank Haith has been mentioned as a fomer member of the Miami atheltic department who knew of improper benefits being provided to athletes by Nevin Shapiro - Photo courtesy of Getty Images |
Alden believed that Haith was the right man and it took some time to convince Mizzou fans on his hunch. Alden seemed to eventually convince Mizzou fans, citing Haith's ability to recruit, his lack of adequate facilities at Miami, and his reputation of running a squeaky clean program as reasons why Haith was the right man for the job.
Well, after Tuesday's news, the squeaky clean program part may have to be thrown out the window.
Nevin Shapiro, who is serving time in jail for running a $930 million ponzi scheme, told Yahoo! Sports that he provided a laundry list of improper benefits to University of Miami football players and other athletes.
Shapiro claims that Frank Haith was among the members of the Miami athletic department who knew of the activities, which included providing athletes and recruits with access to prostitutes, cash payments, jewelry, clothing, televisions, yacht privileges, strip club access, meals, lodging, and even abortions.
While most of the activities listed above involved the football program, it is unclear just how much Haith knew about what was going on and the report clearly claims that the basketball program under Haith's tenure was involved in some way.
Haith has been contacted by the NCAA and did release a statement after the story broke.
"I can confirm that the NCAA has asked to speak with me regarding the time I spent at the University of Miami. I am more than happy to cooperate with the national office on this issue and look forward to a quick resolution."
"The reports questioning my personal interactions with Mr. Shapiro are not an accurate portrayal of my character and per the above I am unable to comment further."Hopefully Haith is correct and the issue can be resolved quickly with few findings of Haith acting in a manner that violates NCAA rules.
The extent of Haith's involvement is unknown and it is unclear if either he or the University of Missouri will face any penalties now that he is a member of the Missouri Tigers basketball program.
But, no matter how you slice it, this looks bad for Mike Alden and the Mizzou athletic department.
Sources:
Fine take here. http://mizzousportswriters.com/2011/08/16/a-burning-ring-of-fire-frank-haith-and-nevin-shapiro/
ReplyDeleteO...he is in trouble all right
ReplyDeleteSB