The college basketball bribery scandal has now reached congress, as two members of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee have asked for a briefing from the companies that appear in the FBI complaints, as well as the NCAA.
“The federal government’s investigation into sports companies and basketball coaches at numerous colleges across the nation is extremely troubling and puts into serious question the NCAA’s ability to oversee its own institutions,” Rep. Greg Walden (R-Or.) and Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) said in a statement released jointly on Thursday. “In addition to any criminal activities, these allegations raise concerns about the effects of these predatory schemes on youth athletes and how hidden financial connections between advertisers and endorsers influence young consumers.”
Four assistant coaches from major programs as well as a runner for a prominent agent, two executives at Adidas, a pair of financial planners and a suit designer were among those arrested. The burgeoning scandal has already cost Louisville head coach Rick Pitino and Athletic Director Tom Jurich their jobs, while an associate AD at Alabama resigned on Wednesday.