FBI College Basketball Corruption Investigation

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#878      
As far as I still know, sure you can, and you'd be well-advised to do so (but very probable most are not well-advised). The tax crime is not paying your taxes on the income, not the nature of the income.

Well, sure, you can report it, but then you risk getting the program in trouble and losing your son's eligibility. I imagine that most people don't report this kind of income.
 
#879      
Is this a class in situational ethics ? What's going to be on the exam ? I'm also reminded of the old saw — we've already determined what you are, we're only dickering over the money.
 
#880      
I don't follow this at all.

Let's say you've got multiple children. The $50K you get for Oldest Kid will substantially improve the lives of Middle Kid and Youngest Kid - you're a terrible person for taking that when everyone is (accurately) reassuring you that pretty much everyone else is doing it, too? And not just terrible, but in your eyes, worse than the people that are fueling that system?

Let's say you've got two kids and mom and dad are college educated making a combined $150,000. The $50k you're offered for the oldest child doesn't make a whit of difference in your quality of life bit you're reassured everyone else is doing. And, let's not pretend these parents don't get the offers as well. Same rules still apply because everyone else is doing it?

The amount of pressure some parents put on kids to be the income generators IS a crime.
 
#881      
Just to keep things clear:

Univeristy 1 - Auburn (Assistant coach shenanigans)
University 2 - South Carolina (Assistant coach shenanigans)
University 3 - Oklahoma State (Assistant coach shenanigans)
University 4 - Arizona (Bidding war with at least Miami (also implicates Nike) over Nassir Little, possible payments to Jahvon Quinerly)
University 5 - USC (Assistant coach shenanigans)
University 6 - Louisville (tied to paying Brian Bowen $100,000)
University 7 - Miami (Bidding war with at least Arizona over Nassir Little)

I don't know that I want to try to decipher all the players involved but that is the current gist
 
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#882      

mattcoldagelli

The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
Let's say you've got two kids and mom and dad are college educated making a combined $150,000. The $50k you're offered for the oldest child doesn't make a whit of difference in your quality of life bit you're reassured everyone else is doing. And, let's not pretend these parents don't get the offers as well. Same rules still apply because everyone else is doing it?

Why would the same rules apply when you've completely altered the cost-benefit?
 
#883      

RedRocksIllini

Morrison, CO
Kid has updated his bio in the last few hours because there wasn't anything about Underwood or the FBI scandal on it late this morning.

I've got a feeling he is REALLY hoping to cash in on this whole thing (don't blame him) given that it doesn't seem like his Chat Sports is really much of anything. Also more than somewhat skeptical that he actually has any kind of substantial source on this thing given his credentials.

How could anyone possibly doubt someone having MULTIPLE SOURCES with deep knowledge? :tsk:

The only thing missing from that bio is the steaming pile emoji.
 
#884      

SublimeBeast

Dieterich, IL
It's probably not smart to talk in absolutes - i.e. "anyone with any morality."

I'd hazard that 90+% of posters on this board have never lived like most of these recruits and their families have lived. When you barely have two bills to rub together, a cash bribe becomes more than a moral issue.

Walk a mile, people.

I disagree, but that's what forums are for - discussion :thumb:. Wrong and right are black/white to me - to this degree anyway. I can understand the weakness of some being tempted though - but that's where morals come into play. Some are stronger than others.

And I have had my share of poverty and hard times...
 
#885      

whovous

Washington, DC
It's probably not smart to talk in absolutes - i.e. "anyone with any morality."

I'd hazard that 90+% of posters on this board have never lived like most of these recruits and their families have lived. When you barely have two bills to rub together, a cash bribe becomes more than a moral issue.

Walk a mile, people.

This.
 
#886      

LJ22

Chicago, IL
I disagree, but that's what forums are for - discussion :thumb:. Wrong and right are black/white to me - to this degree anyway. I can understand the weakness of some being tempted though - but that's where morals come into play. Some are stronger than others.

And I have had my share of poverty and hard times...

Can I personally understand taking the money? No. But I've been fortunate to never need to consider it (not that I've had the option).

I can appreciate that it is "wrong" but also appreciate that it is wrong that these kids are growing up in the circumstances they are to begin with.
 
#887      
Well, sure, you can report it, but then you risk getting the program in trouble and losing your son's eligibility. I imagine that most people don't report this kind of income.

As I stated, I don't disagree with your last statement. But one is far better off declaring the income and paying the taxes. The odds are likely pretty high that you won't be audited, and if you are there is no authority -- to my knowledge, and the Lois Lerners of the world notwithstanding -- for the IRS to refer a case to the NCAA. And if it "somehow" makes it's way there anyway, and the school is is "in trouble" and/or your kid loses his/her eligibility, you're still better off than getting whacked with civil and/or criminal repercussions by the IRS.
 
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#889      
Let's say you've got two kids and mom and dad are college educated making a combined $150,000. The $50k you're offered for the oldest child doesn't make a whit of difference in your quality of life bit you're reassured everyone else is doing. And, let's not pretend these parents don't get the offers as well. Same rules still apply because everyone else is doing it?

The amount of pressure some parents put on kids to be the income generators IS a crime.


Well to be fair, the kids are generating a ton of income at college, just not for themselves or their family.
 
#890      

SublimeBeast

Dieterich, IL
Can I personally understand taking the money? No. But I've been fortunate to never need to consider it (not that I've had the option).

I can appreciate that it is "wrong" but also appreciate that it is wrong that these kids are growing up in the circumstances they are to begin with.

I agree.
 
#891      
As I stated, I don't disagree with your last statement. But one is far better off declaring the income and paying the taxes. The odds are likely pretty high that you won't be audited, and if you are there is no authority -- to my knowledge, and the Lois Lerners of the world notwithstanding -- for the IRS to refer a case to the NCAA. And if it "somehow" makes it's way there anyway, and the school is is "in trouble" and/or your kid loses his/her eligibility, you're still better off than getting whacked with civil and/or criminal repercussions by the IRS.

How would you claim that income on your taxes? I don't imagine the bag of cash comes with a 1099 form attached to it.
 
#894      
Not that I don't empathize with many of the kids situations who come from low socioeconomic status, but someone's circumstances doesn't justify their behavior. It certainly helps understand their behavior but it shouldn't exempt someone from inappropriate behavior.
 
#895      

mattcoldagelli

The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
So then your rule is ethics don't apply if you live in poverty? That's a pretty cynical and condescending point of view. I think there's plenty of people living in poverty who wouldn't agree with your ethics.

My rule is that people will act according to how they weigh the costs and the benefits of their actions. If the money can really help, the benefit part of that equation goes up. If there's a belief that everyone is doing it and people very rarely get caught, the cost part of that equation goes down.
 
#896      

LJ22

Chicago, IL
So then your rule is ethics don't apply if you live in poverty? That's a pretty cynical and condescending point of view. I think there's plenty of people living in poverty who wouldn't agree with your ethics.

I'm not about to speak for mattcoldagelli - he can do that very well on his own - but it isn't cynical and condescending to say you shouldn't judge because you haven't been in that position. Plenty of people living in poverty might not take the money, but that doesn't automatically make them "moral" or "ethical."

Cliff Alexander's mom was living in one of the worst neighborhoods in Chicago with multiple children and working at a grocery store. I'm not about to judge the decisions someone in that situation makes.
 
#897      
Ethics and morals are not the same as laws and rules. Laws and rules are arbitrary and created by people for all sorts of reasons -- reasons that are not always "moral" or "ethical". In fact, it's entirely possible to have an immoral law or an unethical rule.
 
#898      
I'm not about to speak for mattcoldagelli - he can do that very well on his own - but it isn't cynical and condescending to say you shouldn't judge because you haven't been in that position. Plenty of people living in poverty might not take the money, but that doesn't automatically make them "moral" or "ethical."

Cliff Alexander's mom was living in one of the worst neighborhoods in Chicago with multiple children and working at a grocery store. I'm not about to judge the decisions someone in that situation makes.

I also won't judge the person but it doesn't take away the fact that their particular actions were either illegal or unethical.
 
#899      

LJ22

Chicago, IL
I also won't judge the person but it doesn't take away the fact that their particular actions were either illegal or unethical.

The whole conversation got started when someone suggested that parents should be held responsible for accepting recruit money the same as the booster/school/coach/shoe company/etc. They may have made a bad ethical decision to accept the money, but does that mean they should be held just as responsible as a multi-billion dollar athletic company who is taking advantage of their situation?
 
#900      

BananaShampoo

Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
Well, that escalated quickly. Already almost up to 1,000 posts and it's been one day?

With regards to the ethics and poverty question, I think it's not a huge stretch nor is it a controversial position to take that those on the lower socio-economic end of the spectrum are more likely to engage in less ethical activity and take higher risks in the hopes of improving their financial position. Data showing crime rate concentrations and proportion of people that play the lottery bear this out and have since people started looking at statistical data. Why? They have less to lose and much more to gain that somebody who is already well off. Ethics sometimes take a backseat when it comes to the difference between being able to feed your family and provide a better future for your kids versus not.
 
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