Another college athletic program bites the dust. The University of Miami or simply, “The U” hasn’t been it’s formerself as of late but that isn’t of concern. Former Hurricanes booster Nevin Shapiro has come clean about years of benefits he provided to players (and coaches) of the Miami football and basketball programs. Many of these players are currently in the NFL.
There’s a lot of information but check some of the highlights below.
Among the favors Shapiro claimed to have handled for University of Miami players:
- Jewelry/clothing/travel/televisions/rims: Various gifts were provided for a variety of reasons – sometimes as tokens to celebrate special occasions, other times as recruiting inducements for Shapiro’s agency, Axcess Sports. The booster said he doled out tens of thousands of dollars in jewelry for players, including watches (Tavares Gooden and Antrel Rolle), diamond-studded dog tags (Sean Taylor) and an engagement ring (Devin Hester). He also spent thousands of dollars on suits and clothing for Hester, Gooden and McGahee at Fashion Clothiers – purchases that were confirmed to Yahoo! Sports by the store’s owner, Shelly Bloom.Shapiro bought plane tickets for two of McGahee’s female acquaintances to attend the 2002 Heisman Trophy ceremony and flew D.J. Williams’ mother from California to Miami to spend time with her son and meet with Shapiro’s partner at Axcess Sports, Michael Huyghue.Televisions were purchased for Andrew Williams and Sam Shields, and the booster said he also gave Hester cash to buy rims for his SUV.
- House/yacht privileges: Shapiro had two primary Miami Beach residences during his time as a booster – a large $2.7 million poolside home located in the interior of Miami Beach, and a lavish $6.1 million coastal Mediterranean estate located on the west side of Miami Beach. Players in Shapiro’s inner circle were free to come and go as they pleased to both properties.
- Miami night clubs like Mansion where Shaprio ran up tabs on his AMEX to the tune of $83K from all that bottle popping. Strip clubs like Solid Gold, The Cheetah, Pink Pony and Tootsies Cabaret (where he spent $32,000 in one visit)
- Meals/entertainment: Meals were another consistent staple of benefits provided by Shapiro, including meals at Prime 112, Grazie, Prime Italian, Benihana and other establishments.
- Abortion: In one instance, Shapiro described taking a player to the Pink Pony strip club and paying for a dancer to engage in sex with the athlete. In the ensuing weeks, Shapiro said the dancer called one of his security providers and informed him that the player had gotten her pregnant during the incident. Shapiro said he gave the dancer $500 to have an abortion performed, without notifying the player of the incident.“I was doing him a favor,” the booster said. “That idiot might have wanted to keep [the baby].”• Lodging/apartment: Shapiro said he provided lodging on occasion on his yacht or in his homes for players in his inner circle when needed, including varying stints for players such as Devin Hester,
This is a story that we continue to hear. The NCAA has got to make changes to how they are currently operated, this isn’t something that will magically go away, especially in the current economic climate. It should be noted that Shapiro is currently serving 20 years in federal prison on securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and money laundering all related to a ponzi scheme he was involved in. He freely admits that being incarcerated was part of his motivation to come clean (he’s reached out to some of the players he’s helped and they didn’t respond or help him)
If you have the opportunity, you should absolutely read the entire Yahoo piece.
