The FBI’s investigation into college basketball recruiting has led to some interesting revelations about how certain coaches and shoe companies do business, but it’s also turned everything upside down in amusing fashion. Namely: in support of the federal government’s argument that schools have been defrauded (lol) by illicit payments to recruits, the schools are playing the victims.
They are extremely not victims whatsoever, of course, but if leaving out to dry a few Adidas reps is what it takes to limit punishments to their programs, then that’s what they’re gonna do. Said reps were working on the schools’ behalves in a well-established, widely-accepted way of doing business in college basketball: by funneling illegal benefits to elite players.