Appeals Court Upholds Convictions in NCAA Bribery Case

(Bloomberg) -- A federal appeals court upheld the convictions of three sports executives found guilty of paying the families of U.S. college athletes to entice them to top-tier basketball programs.

In a ruling issued Friday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded prosecutors provided enough evidence to support the convictions of James Gatto, an Adidas executive, Merl Code, an Adidas consultant, and Christian Dawkins, an aspiring sports agent. The three men were convicted after a trial in 2018. Each was sentenced to less than a year in prison, though they were allowed to remain free pending the outcome of the appeal.

“Defendants argued that their intent was not to harm but to help the Universities, and they also sought to offer evidence that they were not the only individuals who have paid high school basketball recruits to attend certain universities,” the panel wrote. “The ends, however, do not justify the means, and that others are engaging in improper behavior does not make it lawful.”

The case delved into the underbelly of elite college sports programs, long rumored to involve under-the-table payments to top-tier athletes, and exposed how some sneaker company executives -- with major corporate sponsorships for certain college programs -- steered payments to players through amateur youth leagues. Ten coaches, agents and sports executives were charged in the scheme. The college programs included North Carolina State University, University of Kansas and University of Louisville.

The panel also found the trial judge made no errors in deciding which evidence prosecutors were allowed to present to the jury.

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