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Judge denies NCAA access to documents from corruption investigation

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There are a lot of college basketball coaches around the country that are breathing easier on Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday, Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled against releasing the materials that the government had collected during their investigation into corruption in college basketball that were not entered into evidence during trial. According to ESPN, that totaled 24 different exhibits and the unredacted version of the sentencing memorandum for former Adidas executive Jim Gatto. Gatto was sentenced to nine months in prison, while Merl Code and Christian Dawkins both received six month sentences.

"[The] materials relate to potential rules violations of third-parties not on trial in this action, which might be regarded by certain segments of the public as scandalous conduct,” Kaplan wrote in his opinion, according to ESPN. “Disclosure carries the risk of certain significant reputational and professional repercussions for those referenced in these documents.

“We agree with the government that the information in these documents consist of hearsay, speculation and rumors. Furthermore, the individuals referred to in these documents are not standing trial. They will not have the opportunity to test the reliability of the information contained in these materials nor respond adequately to any inferences that might be drawn on the basis of this information. In other words, the documents are of a sensitive nature, and the degree of injury is high.”

Gatto was convicted in October of funneling money to the families - and, in one case, the guardian - of players that were being recruited by N.C. State, Kansas and Louisville, all three of which are programs that are sponsored by Adidas.