OT: Scandal related to U of Penn basketball

[royboy]

Former Penn coach, current Celtics assistant testifies to taking $300,000 in bribes

Former Pennsylvania basketball coach Jerome Allen testified to taking around $300,000 in wire transfer bribes from a Florida businessman in exchange for getting the man's son into the university with a priority basketball scholarship.

Allen, now a coach with the Boston Celtics, resigned from a six-year head coaching tenure leading the Quakers in 2015. He was 65-104.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nca...-dollar300000-in-bribes/ar-BBUFS5D?ocid=ientp

 

[BobPSU92]

Please take this opportunity to remember that Penn has a culture problem.

 

[sss]

I hope they nail the Ivy League for it's corrupt basketball that ruins it for the upstanding teams that do it the right way, like Duke, UNC, Kansas, Arizona, Louisville, etc.

 

[Pardlion]

Former Penn coach, current Celtics assistant testifies to taking $300,000 in bribes

Former Pennsylvania basketball coach Jerome Allen testified to taking around $300,000 in wire transfer bribes from a Florida businessman in exchange for getting the man's son into the university with a priority basketball scholarship.

Allen, now a coach with the Boston Celtics, resigned from a six-year head coaching tenure leading the Quakers in 2015. He was 65-104.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nca...-dollar300000-in-bribes/ar-BBUFS5D?ocid=ientp

I blame JoePa.

 

[krichards]

I know this isn't really the point, but shouldn't the father just have used the $300,000 for tuition?

 

[sluggo72]

I know this isn't really the point, but shouldn't the father just have used the $300,000 for tuition?

you cant pay the tuition without getting admitted. I think the money was to guarantee admission.

 

[LionJim]

I know this isn't really the point, but shouldn't the father just have used the $300,000 for tuition?

He had to get his son admitted, I suppose.

 

[BlueBand]

I know this isn't really the point, but shouldn't the father just have used the $300,000 for tuition?

The money was to get him into the school. Apparently there’s a scandal breaking with kids getting into schools they otherwise couldn’t, under the guise of being athletes, when they otherwise wouldn’t have been recruited as athletes. Parents bribed coaches to recruit their kids as a bench warmer, to get them into a school they couldn’t get into in their own. At least that’s how I’m understanding it at the moment.

 

[Uh Clem]

The money was paid to former coach, Jerome Allen, to list the kid as a basketball recruit despite the fact the kid only played in a low level, Jewish high school basketball league. Recruited athletes in the Ivy League are usually admitted over equally qualified students who are not athletes. It is not that the kid wasn't smart...but almost everyone who applies to Penn is smart. The kid's dad could have legally donated a similar amount directly to Penn and not heads would have turned after junior was admitted. But the fact the kid wasn't good enough to make the team opened peoples eyes to the deception.

 

[psuro]

Damn Quackers.

 

[BlueBand]

Somehow, certain members of the press will probably confuse the schools and rope us into this.

 

[NittPicker]

Somehow, certain members of the press will probably confuse the schools and rope us into this.

The UPenn snobs get bent out of shape when they're confused with Penn State. Maybe it's us who should be offended. Ivy League elite? Only if you're willing to play the money game.

 

[bwifan]

Please take this opportunity to remember that Penn has a culture problem.

I hate Penn and Penn State...

 

[shultz40]

The same Upenn that did nothing while a Wharton prof was raping kids for decades.

https://davidmginsberg.wordpress.co...ool-of-the-university-of-pennsylvania-part-1/

 

[delcoLion]

The money was to get him into the school. Apparently there’s a scandal breaking with kids getting into schools they otherwise couldn’t, under the guise of being athletes, when they otherwise wouldn’t have been recruited as athletes. Parents bribed coaches to recruit their kids as a bench warmer, to get them into a school they couldn’t get into in their own. At least that’s how I’m understanding it at the moment.

I never heard of such a thing (usingacoach/athletics for admission) until today when I read of the Penn coach taking a bribe to do this. Then, I saw an article somewhere that a couple of Hollywood actresses were indicted for the same thing.

I guess the old fashioned way of the father withholding contributions until a legacy got admitted doesn’t work anymore.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

Not shocked. Went to Penn and there were plenty of idiots there because their families were richer than Croesus

 

[Media Fan]

The other side of the story is that there are plenty of academically qualified kids who do not get in.
I went to grad school at Penn, and remember an alumni piece taking apparent pride in reporting that something like 75% of applicants could do the work, while only admitting a small fraction of them.

Total undergrad Ivy enrollment something like 50,000 among the 8 schools.
There are really good kids at all sorts of schools. Unfortunately, cultural snobbery gets in the way.

 

[sluggo72]

The other side of the story is that there are plenty of academically qualified kids who do not get in.
I went to grad school at Penn, and remember an alumni piece taking apparent pride in reporting that something like 75% of applicants could do the work, while only admitting a small fraction of them.

Total undergrad Ivy enrollment something like 50,000 among the 8 schools.
There are really good kids at all sorts of schools. Unfortunately, cultural snobbery gets in the way.

lets face it, any club that would have me for a member, I wouldnt want to join.

 

[4IUSox2]

This kid's dad, who paid the $300K bribe, has been in Federal Custody for the last few years on a charge of Medicare Fraud to the tune of $1 billion. The trial finally started last month in Miami. The family is well known in both Chicago and South Florida nursing home business. His family, his rabbi and lots of influential people have gone to bat for this POS to try and get him out on bond while awaiting trial. NOPE!! Hope they make an example of him.

 

[Norm Petersin]

Emmert will come down on Penn

 

[Chickenman Testa]

This kid's dad, who paid the $300K bribe, has been in Federal Custody for the last few years on a charge of Medicare Fraud to the tune of $1 billion. The trial finally started last month in Miami. The family is well known in both Chicago and South Florida nursing home business. His family, his rabbi and lots of influential people have gone to bat for this POS to try and get him out on bond while awaiting trial. NOPE!! Hope they make an example of him.

Sounds like he’s pulling a Madoff - using the religious card to curry favor and seek forgiveness.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

This kid's dad, who paid the $300K bribe, has been in Federal Custody for the last few years on a charge of Medicare Fraud to the tune of $1 billion. The trial finally started last month in Miami. The family is well known in both Chicago and South Florida nursing home business. His family, his rabbi and lots of influential people have gone to bat for this POS to try and get him out on bond while awaiting trial. NOPE!! Hope they make an example of him.

Dude’s a scumbag

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.mi.../miami-dade/miami-beach/article226121650.html

 

[kijanacat]

I thought the Ivies didn't give out athletic schollies. Or is that not the point either? I don't get the sports angle if they aren't trying to buy athletes.

 

[PSULionsDub]

The Ivies do not give out athletic scholarships. Here is the situation...most college coaches are allocated a specific number of “chips” by the university/admissions office, which they can use to tell the Admissions Office to admit certain recruited student athletes to the university. These recruited student athletes (I.e. the chips) do not have the academic qualifications to be admitted to the university on their own. However, these so-called recruited student athletes were never going to be a college athlete because they were not good enough to play the respective college sport. The college coach was bribed to use their “chips” to get the student into the university knowing full well these students were never going to play the respective college sport. This situation has impacted the country’s elite universities, many of whom have high academic standards for admission.

 

[Woodpecker]

The Ivies do not give out athletic scholarships. Here is the situation...most college coaches are allocated a specific number of “chips” by the university/admissions office, which they can use to tell the Admissions Office to admit certain recruited student athletes to the university. These recruited student athletes (I.e. the chips) do not have the academic qualifications to be admitted to the university on their own. However, these so-called recruited student athletes were never going to be a college athlete because they were not good enough to play the respective college sport. The college coach was bribed to use their “chips” to get the student into the university knowing full well these students were never going to play the respective college sport. This situation has impacted the country’s elite universities, many of whom have high academic standards for admission.

Won't those kids be miserable in class?

 

[Art]

Won't those kids be miserable in class?

Not necessarily. Some very well could be qualified academically, comparable to their peers, but wouldn't get in simply because the school is so competitive that it only admits a small percentage of qualified applicants.The designation of "athlete"pretty much guarantees that they'll be admitted.

 

[PSULionsDub]

This national federal case seems to have been investigated over the past couple of years. Last year, Georgetown terminated its Womens Tennis Coach for using his “chips” on a couple of students, where he told the admissions office to admit these students under the premise they were recruited student athletes for the women’s tennis team. However, these students did not play tennis nor were they going to play on Georgetown’s Women’s Tennis Team. This coach was paid a couple million dollars in bribes to get these students admitted to the school. Georgetown got wind of this federal investigation so they performed their own internal investigation and ultimately terminated the coach.

 

[Art]

This national federal case seems to have been investigated over the past couple of years. Last year, Georgetown terminated its Womens Tennis Coach for using his “chips” on a couple of students, where he told the admissions office to admit these students under the premise they were recruited student athletes for the women’s tennis team. However, these students did not play tennis nor were they going to play on Georgetown’s Women’s Tennis Team. This coach was paid a couple million dollars in bribes to get these students admitted to the school. Georgetown got wind of this federal investigation so they performed their own internal investigation and ultimately terminated the coach.

Yeah, but the results of Georgetown's "investigation" were not enough to prevent him from getting a job as tennis coach at the University of Rhode Island.

 

[PSULionsDub]

Yeah, but the results of Georgetown's "investigation" were not enough to prevent him from getting a job as tennis coach at the University of Rhode Island.

Similar to many employment practices these days, it is often politically correct and potentially under the law, for an employer to only confirm that said employee worked at the entity for a specific period of time and at said position. Most companies will not disclose employee performance information and any other employee information to a potential employer. At my last employer, I was specifically instructed to only discuss the employee’s tenure and position, but nothing else about a former employee if I was asked to perform a reference. Based on this type of situation, it is common for a new employer to never got wind that one of its employees was fired from a previous employer.

 

[AWS1022]

Somehow, certain members of the press will probably confuse the schools and rope us into this.

And many people around the country will think Penn is Penn State and we’ll get another black eye.

 

[NittPicker]

And many people around the country will think Penn is Penn State and we’ll get another black eye.

The UPenn folk generally stick their noses in the air and get offended when someone makes that mistake. In this case they'd likely stay quiet about it.

 

[LionJim]

Yeah, but the results of Georgetown's "investigation" were not enough to prevent him from getting a job as tennis coach at the University of Rhode Island.

Lol. And here I was, during the drive into the office, wondering if they'd ever get another job for the rest of their lives. Such a silly thought.

 

[Art]

Lol. And here I was, during the drive into the office, wondering if they'd ever get another job for the rest of their lives. Such a silly thought.

Yes and no. Now that the information is public, it's going to be a lot harder for the coaches involved to get jobs at universities. A good tennis coach, though, will likely be able to string together enough gigs giving private lessons to make ends meet.

 

[Art]

Similar to many employment practices these days, it is often politically correct and potentially under the law, for an employer to only confirm that said employee worked at the entity for a specific period of time and at said position. Most companies will not disclose employee performance information and any other employee information to a potential employer. At my last employer, I was specifically instructed to only discuss the employee’s tenure and position, but nothing else about a former employee if I was asked to perform a reference. Based on this type of situation, it is common for a new employer to never got wind that one of its employees was fired from a previous employer.

That's if a prospective employer simply limits inquiries to official channels. A few phone calls can generally expose what the real circumstances are.

 

[ApexLion]

The money was to get him into the school. Apparently there’s a scandal breaking with kids getting into schools they otherwise couldn’t, under the guise of being athletes, when they otherwise wouldn’t have been recruited as athletes. Parents bribed coaches to recruit their kids as a bench warmer, to get them into a school they couldn’t get into in their own. At least that’s how I’m understanding it at the moment.

There's another issue that is only obliquely referenced in the indictments and could be far more important than getting Richie Rich on the crew team: standardized test scores being altered.

In some of the indictments, its noted that this phony foundation was promising higher test scores and scoring was altered after test taking. Presumably they had someone on the take at ACT or the Educational Testing Service. If that's the case, the whole system of comparative test scoring comes into question and we can have lawsuits galore. How do I know my child's score wasn't messed with?

 

[Art]

There's another issue that is only obliquely referenced in the indictments and could be far more important than getting Richie Rich on the crew team: standardized test scores being altered.

In some of the indictments, its noted that this phony foundation was promising higher test scores and scoring was altered after test taking. Presumably they had someone on the take at ACT or the Educational Testing Service. If that's the case, the whole system of comparative test scoring comes into question and we can have lawsuits galore. How do I know my child's score wasn't messed with?

Believe the foundation had people on the take at sites at which the test was administered, not inside the ACT or ETS. Read that in one case they were able to get a ringer past the identification protocols to take the test for a student. In another, an on-site proctor changed answers before they were submitted.

 

[ApexLion]

Believe the foundation had people on the take at sites at which the test was administered, not inside the ACT or ETS. Read that in one case they were able to get a ringer past the identification protocols to take the test for a student. In another, an on-site proctor changed answers before they were submitted.

Okay, so its proctors with a lot of loot. I imagine one could charge six figures to change answers.

 

[Art]

Okay, so its proctors with a lot of loot. I imagine one could charge six figures to change answers.

Not that much. Reports are that the guy at the center of these schemes got $15k-$75k to have test results manufactured. Who knows what the proctors actually got? This was the cheap approach. Great test scores are far less a guarantee of admission to a very selective school than having a coach designate the applicant as a recruit.

 

[Media Fan]

Reminder: This thread should be part of the much broader scandal that the Boston DOJ announced. There are all too many schools involved.

 

[shultz40]

The Ivies do not give out athletic scholarships. Here is the situation...most college coaches are allocated a specific number of “chips” by the university/admissions office, which they can use to tell the Admissions Office to admit certain recruited student athletes to the university. These recruited student athletes (I.e. the chips) do not have the academic qualifications to be admitted to the university on their own. However, these so-called recruited student athletes were never going to be a college athlete because they were not good enough to play the respective college sport. The college coach was bribed to use their “chips” to get the student into the university knowing full well these students were never going to play the respective college sport. This situation has impacted the country’s elite universities, many of whom have high academic standards for admission.

They call it an academic scholarship even though it is an athletic scholarship.