Back in 2017, it was revealed that some people working within Adidas basketball were up to some shady business in order to lure players to Universities that were sponsored by Adidas. The accused parties were said to have offered money to the parents of players so that they could go to the aforementioned schools. Three of the men were convicted on felony charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Those three men were former Adidas Executive James Gatto, former Adidas consultant Merl Code, and aspiring sports business manager Christian Dawkins.
According to ESPN, Gatto received nine months in jail, while Code and Dawkins each received a more lenient sentence of six months.
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All three men expressed regret for what they did, although Code did express his frustrations saying "Some things really got to be changed about college basketball.'' It's clear that through Code's statement, he is trying to say that players in the NCAA generate so much revenue that they deserve to be paid in some capacity and that these backdoor deals only exist because of harsh collegiate rules.
The defendants' attorneys made sure to note that they never intended to hurt their schools although the judge made it clear that the three men knew what they were up to and that a jail sentence was necessary.
