Chuck Person Saga (Threads Merged)

[steeleagle 2,945]

Boy, I really was trying to make Person even more broke.  You're right... $30,000/mo. 

I just hope Person didn't cause Auburn  MORE problems in the near future to get a LOI b/c of the rules regarding HCs and being responsible for their staff's actions.

[fredst 9,064]

On 7/3/2019 at 12:54 PM, Tiger said:

80k A MONTH

 

 

As if I needed more reasons to not get married LOL

Get married. If you find the right one, like I was fortunate to, it will be the greatest thing in your life. Just don’t get divorced, lol.

[aubiefifty 16,695]

ALways know what your enemies say because silence is consent. i would encourage folks to read this and then flood al.com  with emails or phone calls calling them out on this. i have.

 

Basketball corruption could upstage SEC Media Days

Updated 11:21 AM; Today 11:19 AM

5-6 minutes

---

By Joseph Goodman | jgoodman@al.com

Mark Gottfried didn’t know.

Had no idea.

Not one clue.

His assistant coach at N.C. State went rogue, and landed a recruit with cash, and Gottfried was just the unassuming head coach of the N.C. State basketball team. That’s what he told his new employer anyway before being hired at Cal State-Northridge. They believed him.

And even if Gottfried knew about the illegal recruitment of Dennis Smith back at N.C. State, then there wasn’t any solid proof of it. No one could pin anything on him.

Earlier this week, the NCAA said it didn’t care about his plausible deniability, and charged Gottfried with “violation of head coach responsibilities” in a notice of allegations to N.C. State that claims both Gottfriend and the N.C. State athletic department failed to properly monitor the basketball team back in 2015. N.C. State made the official notice of allegations public on Wednesday. They stem from the 2018 federal corruption case that concerned several other universities, including Auburn.

More notices of allegations likely are coming, and Auburn should be nervous. The NCAA made one thing perfectly clear this week. It is coming after the head coaches.

Coach Bruce Pearl was in a similar position to Gottfried after the corruption case that found former Auburn coach Chuck Person guilty of accepting bribes to steer Auburn’s players to a financial advisor once they turned pro. Pearl didn’t know.

No one at Auburn knew anything.

In the case of Gottfried and N.C. State, not knowing didn’t mean they were innocent in the eyes of the NCAA. It meant they were guilty of not knowing.

The NCAA promised it would get tough on enforcement following the Department of Justice’s federal corruption case. If so, this could be a long summer for some high-profile head coaches.

In the grand scheme of NCAA basketball, Gottfried had turned into a pretty small fish. It feels like the NCAA is out to land some bigger prizes before this summer is over. Person pled guilty back in March, but his sentencing recently was pushed back to July 17.

That’s right in the middle of SEC Media Days. Is basketball corruption going to overshadow everything at the SEC’s marquee football event?

Let’s be clear. Pearl had nothing to do with Person’s crooked schemes. He was innocent in the eyes of the federal government.

But here’s what administrators, school presidents and armchair attorneys need to understand. The NCAA isn’t a court of law. They don’t need any more evidence than what the FBI and Department of Justice already have uncovered to bust shady coaches for shady behavior.

If they’re going to tag Gottfried for unknowingly running a corrupt program, then Pearl might be in trouble. What’s more contemptible: an assistant coach who bribes players for their services, or an assistant coach who uses his players to line his own pockets? That shouldn’t be a difficult question to answer.

Person pled guilty to accepting over $90,000 in bribes from a financial advisor who was an FBI informant. The informant leveraged a relationship with a celebrity tailor, Rashan Michel of Fairfield, Alabama, to gain access to Person. At the time, Pearl called it “unacceptable.” He was right about that, but Michel was no stranger to Auburn athletics before the scandal.

Gottfried wasn’t fired by N.C. State in 2017 for anything other than wins and losses. He went 31-24 over his final two seasons. When the axe fell, here’s what he said: “Everything that happens is my responsibility. I get it. Just like if you beat Villanova in the NCAA tournament, or you go to the Sweet 16, you get a lot of praise a lot of times as a coach. Other times you take the hits. That’s part of what we do.”

If an assistant coach bribes a player with cash, then doesn’t that, too, fall under the responsibility of the head coach?

Gottfried’s former assistant at N.C. State, Orlando Early, paid a middleman for Dennis Smith’s recruiting commitment in 2015. The NCAA wasn’t concerned with the details of who knew what, or the perceived innocence of Early’s boss. The NCAA simply cared about one thing. Gottfried should have known about it.

Now the former Alabama basketball player, who coached the Crimson Tide from 1998 to 2009, faces a Level I violation by the NCAA’s investigators. It’s up to the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions to determine Gottfried’s punishment. He could miss significant amounts of next season, or worse if Cal State-Northridge keeps him employed.

The NCAA once banned Pearl from coaching for five years for lying to investigators. Now they might not even care if he was telling the truth about Person.

"I don't think anybody else knew,” former Auburn president Steven Leath said in 2017 after Person was arrested. “I don't think there's any indication at Auburn that anybody else knew about this."

It appears that’s all the NCAA cares about now.

Joseph Goodman is a columnist for the Alabama Media Group. He’s on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.

[WarTiger 3,896]

don't see this at all as a hit piece.  It's got inaccurate information but not a stretch to link those together.  Was the writer taking advantage of it, absolutely, but hit piece? No.

[gr82be 14,401]

I don't see anything to call them out for at this point. Just because I don't like reading the potential outcome as it could affect Auburn, he gave his opinion and it could happen. Hopefully it doesn't. It doesn't make Bruce any less of a coach or man than he is. Person messed up big time. The writer's opinion may be biased but we're accustomed to that at Auburn. Thanks for posting though. 

*I see @WarTiger and I were typing at the same time. 

[creed 1,629]

2 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

ALways know what your enemies say because silence is consent. i would encourage folks to read this and then flood al.com  with emails or phone calls calling them out on this. i have.

 

Basketball corruption could upstage SEC Media Days

Updated 11:21 AM; Today 11:19 AM

5-6 minutes

---

By Joseph Goodman | jgoodman@al.com

Mark Gottfried didn’t know.

Had no idea.

Not one clue.

His assistant coach at N.C. State went rogue, and landed a recruit with cash, and Gottfried was just the unassuming head coach of the N.C. State basketball team. That’s what he told his new employer anyway before being hired at Cal State-Northridge. They believed him.

And even if Gottfried knew about the illegal recruitment of Dennis Smith back at N.C. State, then there wasn’t any solid proof of it. No one could pin anything on him.

Earlier this week, the NCAA said it didn’t care about his plausible deniability, and charged Gottfried with “violation of head coach responsibilities” in a notice of allegations to N.C. State that claims both Gottfriend and the N.C. State athletic department failed to properly monitor the basketball team back in 2015. N.C. State made the official notice of allegations public on Wednesday. They stem from the 2018 federal corruption case that concerned several other universities, including Auburn.

More notices of allegations likely are coming, and Auburn should be nervous. The NCAA made one thing perfectly clear this week. It is coming after the head coaches.

Coach Bruce Pearl was in a similar position to Gottfried after the corruption case that found former Auburn coach Chuck Person guilty of accepting bribes to steer Auburn’s players to a financial advisor once they turned pro. Pearl didn’t know.

No one at Auburn knew anything.

In the case of Gottfried and N.C. State, not knowing didn’t mean they were innocent in the eyes of the NCAA. It meant they were guilty of not knowing.

The NCAA promised it would get tough on enforcement following the Department of Justice’s federal corruption case. If so, this could be a long summer for some high-profile head coaches.

In the grand scheme of NCAA basketball, Gottfried had turned into a pretty small fish. It feels like the NCAA is out to land some bigger prizes before this summer is over. Person pled guilty back in March, but his sentencing recently was pushed back to July 17.

That’s right in the middle of SEC Media Days. Is basketball corruption going to overshadow everything at the SEC’s marquee football event?

Let’s be clear. Pearl had nothing to do with Person’s crooked schemes. He was innocent in the eyes of the federal government.

But here’s what administrators, school presidents and armchair attorneys need to understand. The NCAA isn’t a court of law. They don’t need any more evidence than what the FBI and Department of Justice already have uncovered to bust shady coaches for shady behavior.

If they’re going to tag Gottfried for unknowingly running a corrupt program, then Pearl might be in trouble. What’s more contemptible: an assistant coach who bribes players for their services, or an assistant coach who uses his players to line his own pockets? That shouldn’t be a difficult question to answer.

Person pled guilty to accepting over $90,000 in bribes from a financial advisor who was an FBI informant. The informant leveraged a relationship with a celebrity tailor, Rashan Michel of Fairfield, Alabama, to gain access to Person. At the time, Pearl called it “unacceptable.” He was right about that, but Michel was no stranger to Auburn athletics before the scandal.

Gottfried wasn’t fired by N.C. State in 2017 for anything other than wins and losses. He went 31-24 over his final two seasons. When the axe fell, here’s what he said: “Everything that happens is my responsibility. I get it. Just like if you beat Villanova in the NCAA tournament, or you go to the Sweet 16, you get a lot of praise a lot of times as a coach. Other times you take the hits. That’s part of what we do.”

If an assistant coach bribes a player with cash, then doesn’t that, too, fall under the responsibility of the head coach?

Gottfried’s former assistant at N.C. State, Orlando Early, paid a middleman for Dennis Smith’s recruiting commitment in 2015. The NCAA wasn’t concerned with the details of who knew what, or the perceived innocence of Early’s boss. The NCAA simply cared about one thing. Gottfried should have known about it.

Now the former Alabama basketball player, who coached the Crimson Tide from 1998 to 2009, faces a Level I violation by the NCAA’s investigators. It’s up to the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions to determine Gottfried’s punishment. He could miss significant amounts of next season, or worse if Cal State-Northridge keeps him employed.

The NCAA once banned Pearl from coaching for five years for lying to investigators. Now they might not even care if he was telling the truth about Person.

"I don't think anybody else knew,” former Auburn president Steven Leath said in 2017 after Person was arrested. “I don't think there's any indication at Auburn that anybody else knew about this."

It appears that’s all the NCAA cares about now.

Joseph Goodman is a columnist for the Alabama Media Group. He’s on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.

You have scolded me before about identifying the prejudice of al.com, but maybe you're starting to understand. They are not AU friendly. Ever since bama's new coach has been hired al.com has been running uplifting articles on him, even though they don't really even know him. Uplift bama, downgrade AU. It's what they are paid to do. I'd even bet their reporters get envelopes with money and instructions anonymously stuffed in their mailboxes.

[steeleagle 2,945]

1 hour ago, WarTiger said:

don't see this at all as a hit piece.  It's got inaccurate information but not a stretch to link those together.  Was the writer taking advantage of it, absolutely, but hit piece? No.

The writer definitely was implying the possibilities where it concerns Auburn. He has that right as a reporter.

All of us better keep an eye on our back on this one w/ the NCAA, b/c for now no one knows if they want to scold ALL coaches where there assistants were caught redhanded by the FBI. This HC coach accountability is a very grey area to assume what the NCAA will do.

The only difference between our case and the NCST case is theirs involved recruiting violations, and ours involved existing scholarship players. Also, the NCAA issued punishment for the AU players, where I don't think the NCAA had done anything to NCST until now.

[aubiefifty 16,695]

2 hours ago, steeleagle said:

The writer definitely was implying the possibilities where it concerns Auburn. He has that right as a reporter.

All of us better keep an eye on our back on this one w/ the NCAA, b/c for now no one knows if they want to scold ALL coaches where there assistants were caught redhanded by the FBI. This HC coach accountability is a very grey area to assume what the NCAA will do.

The only difference between our case and the NCST case is theirs involved recruiting violations, and ours involved existing scholarship players. Also, the NCAA issued punishment for the AU players, where I don't think the NCAA had done anything to NCST until now.

i felt like the writer was using mark to take another shot at bruce. and we were punished which means we would be punished twice? is it credible to think that? i am genuine in my asking. it seems very unfair. and yes i am the cat that posts a lot of al.com stuff on here and then has to defend my choice or make snarky little comebacks. shrugs. i will be 65 next month so clarity is not always my middle name............lol

[AU64 10,122]

28 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

i felt like the writer was using mark to take another shot at bruce. and we were punished which means we would be punished twice? is it credible to think that? i am genuine in my asking. it seems very unfair. and yes i am the cat that posts a lot of al.com stuff on here and then has to defend my choice or make snarky little comebacks. shrugs. i will be 65 next month so clarity is not always my middle name............lol

JMO but I don't see it as a hit piece...just an opinion and observation that NCAA is trying to take a harder line on situations where staff are engaged in violations and HCs plead ignorance.   The blue bloods been sending young coaches out to take the fall over violations for a long time.  Rules changed a while back.

Good discussion here...  https://syracusefan.com/threads/head-coach-responsibility.143337/

[AU_Tiger_88 417]

leave any and all political refernces out of posts here Trying to compare things that really aren't related.  One paying to get a recruit ala Kansas (which I believe was implicated) and another paying to steer folks post college career.  But don't let that stop the reporter....Why not tie in LSU and bama incidents as well?  Then that argument may hold more water in my opinion.

[Win4AU 4,052]

44 minutes ago, AU_Tiger_88 said:

trying to compare things that really aren't related.  One paying to get a recruit ala Kansas (which I believe was implicated) and another paying to steer folks post college career.  But don't let that stop the reporter....Why not tie in LSU and bama incidents as well?  Then that argument may hold more water in my opinion.

My only problem with this article, as you mentioned, is it squarely suggests Auburn might be in trouble but doesn’t mention the other recent transgressions that have come to light.  I’m still bewildered how Wade Wilson still has a job after being taped offering money.  You also have court documents claiming Bama’s star Sexton was paid while in school.  I feel like that’s much more in line with NCAA troubles than directing players to a financial advisor after their playing days are over.  Auburn went from 0 to hero so I get it. Auburn obviously cheated to get there because Bruce is our coach and rubs people the wrong way.

[AU_Tiger_88 417]

22 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

My only problem with this article, as you mentioned, is it squarely suggests Auburn might be in trouble but doesn’t mention the other recent transgressions that have come to light.  I’m still bewildered how Wade Wilson still has a job after being taped offering money.  You also have court documents claiming Bama’s star Sexton was paid while in school.  I feel like that’s much more in line with NCAA troubles than directing players to a financial advisor after their playing days are over.  Auburn went from 0 to hero so I get it. Auburn obviously cheated to get there because Bruce is our coach and rubs people the wrong way.

I don't understand the reason that people are rubbed the wrong way by Bruce...he must have pissed many off by speaking his mind and doing really well in a short time that he has been at programs or it could be a little antisemitism showing by some.  I really don't care what it is because he seems to be a nice guy and just wants to win ball games and help the young men grow and mature into better young men.  I get so tired of sloppy so called journalism...this happens in more areas than sports but they need to step up with facts and not opinion pieces unless of course they are up front that it is an opinion piece but when they start trying to use innuendo as facts or trying to tie non-related items together they lose their credibility.

[ellitor 33,062]

9 hours ago, AU_Tiger_88 said:

I don't understand the reason that people are rubbed the wrong way by Bruce...he must have pissed many off by speaking his mind and doing really well in a short time that he has been at programs or it could be a little antisemitism showing by some.  I really don't care what it is because he seems to be a nice guy and just wants to win ball games and help the young men grow and mature into better young men.  I get so tired of sloppy so called journalism...this happens in more areas than sports but they need to step up with facts and not opinion pieces unless of course they are up front that it is an opinion piece but when they start trying to use innuendo as facts or trying to tie non-related items together they lose their credibility.

There's 2 parts to the why. 1 is this article is driven by bammer biased media. 2. is there are a good number of people in the basketball world that still have problems with Bruce from whatever allegedly happened with him as an assistant coach many years ago.

[steeleagle 2,945]

1 hour ago, ellitor said:

There's 2 parts to the why. 1 is this article is driven by bammer biased media. 2. is there are a good number of people in the basketball world that still have problems with Bruce from whatever allegedly happened with him as an assistant coach many years ago.

So are you saying that Goodman is a legit bammer media? I really don't know. 

And there is definitely problems in that coaches in the past have nothing good to say about Pearl. When a coach is seen as a snitch in any profession, it tends to never leave, and with instant media these days, they tend to want to keep alive those negative issues bc Pearl is successful again. Just look at the SEC voting in the post season awards.

Is it warranted,? No. Pearl has apologized, and shows he wants to be a better person with his relationships in coaching circles as well w/ his players.

[mustache eagle 2,388]

I’ve said this numerous times ... If it makes people feel better, IMO sports media are the absolute “scumbaggest” portion of a media that most people already don’t like.  They aren’t real media they are TMZ for sports.

[ellitor 33,062]

17 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

So are you saying that Goodman is a legit bammer media? I really don't know. 

Yes. Hardly the 1st time he's written an article like that on AU.

 

[aubiefifty 16,695]

18 hours ago, creed said:

You have scolded me before about identifying the prejudice of al.com, but maybe you're starting to understand. They are not AU friendly. Ever since bama's new coach has been hired al.com has been running uplifting articles on him, even though they don't really even know him. Uplift bama, downgrade AU. It's what they are paid to do. I'd even bet their reporters get envelopes with money and instructions anonymously stuffed in their mailboxes.

no sir i scolded you because you and others have basically tried to tell me what to print or not to print so to speak. it happens every year. and just because i post some stuff from al.com does not mean i think they are great. the fact is more and more sites are charging for stories about auburn that should be free. so i get relevant news where ever i can find them. nothing more........

[creed 1,629]

48 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

no sir i scolded you because you and others have basically tried to tell me what to print or not to print so to speak. it happens every year. and just because i post some stuff from al.com does not mean i think they are great. the fact is more and more sites are charging for stories about auburn that should be free. so i get relevant news where ever i can find them. nothing more........

I have never stated you can’t post something, but you scolded me on my opinion of an article you posted. It’s free speech. You should be able to post what you want and I should be able to have an opinion ... right?

[aubiefifty 16,695]

4 minutes ago, creed said:

I have never stated you can’t post something, but you scolded me on my opinion of an article you posted. It’s free speech. You should be able to post what you want and I should be able to have an opinion ... right?

mos folks just made snarky comments on my news source and in an off handed way it strikes me as a way to discourage me from posting al articles shrugs. if that was not your intent i freely apologize.

[ellitor 33,062]

12 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

mos folks just made snarky comments on my news source and in an off handed way it strikes me as a way to discourage me from posting al articles shrugs. if that was not your intent i freely apologize.

It's not about you & never has been. Some of us just get tired of the bammer spin cycle from al.com

[creed 1,629]

31 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

mos folks just made snarky comments on my news source and in an off handed way it strikes me as a way to discourage me from posting al articles shrugs. if that was not your intent i freely apologize.

We’re good. Just me providing an opinion on a tabloid that’s pro you know who to the core. You can post their stuff and I can have an opinion. Works for both of us. My approach is to never intentionally make it personal. 

[AuburnNTexas 7,127]

While I agree AL.COM is pro bama to the core. I am still worried about the way the NCAA is trying to make HC responsible for everything bad that happens in a program. That does allow the NCAA to go after a coach like Bruce. How a HC is supposed to know and stop an assistant coach from doing something behind his back for his own personal gain is beyond me. Unlike the FBI Bruce does not have the legal right to wiretap his assistant so there is no way he could know about it to stop it. 

What Person did in no way helped Auburn to recruit or keep players and we were already punished for it. That said I am still worried what could happen.

[AU64 10,122]

2 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

What Person did in no way helped Auburn to recruit or keep players and we were already punished for it. That said I am still worried what could happen.

Money went to the player families from an AU coach.  Not even talking about BP …but if a basketball HC with only four assistants can't keep up with what his guys are doing then he's just not paying attention.    We hear all the time about how coaching staffs are like family, do stuff together etc....and HCs need to be alert, ..it's part of the job especially in the corrupt atmosphere that is college basketball.   AU suspended three coaches and two players......so it's not like school officials thought nothing happened. 

And JMO, but part of the school responsibility includes hiring ethical people and then at least making sure they know the expectations.   Coaches all over the country pulling the Sarg. Schultz act is what brought this about..

 

[AuburnNTexas 7,127]

16 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Money went to the player families from an AU coach.  Not even talking about BP …but if a basketball HC with only four assistants can't keep up with what his guys are doing then he's just not paying attention.    We hear all the time about how coaching staffs are like family, do stuff together etc....and HCs need to be alert, ..it's part of the job especially in the corrupt atmosphere that is college basketball.   AU suspended three coaches and two players......so it's not like school officials thought nothing happened. 

And JMO, but part of the school responsibility includes hiring ethical people and then at least making sure they know the expectations.   Coaches all over the country pulling the Sarg. Schultz act is what brought this about..

 

If somebody is doing something on the sly as they know it is against school policy. How are you supposed to know that they are doing it. Person was doing something for his own personal gain and knew he would be out if Coach or University knew about it, so he hid it. If you were the head coach how would you know about it. As I said earlier the only reason the FBI caught it was because they were investigation other people and they had legal right to wiretap. 

Are you saying the Head Coach and University should be illegally wiretapping all their assistant coaches?  If so that is a much more serious crime then what Person did!

The coach who did this was removed and the players punished what more could be done?

[gravejd 3,267]

BP didn't bring Person to AU. AU brought Person to BP.  This was one of our own that did this. As an AU alum i think we owe Pearl an apology for staining his record with this