By Edward G. Robinson III
AFRO Sports Editor
A federal investigation into point-shaving and sports bribery has resulted in indictments and arrests for 26 people accused of “fixing” NCAA Division I basketball games. The accused reportedly coerced, convinced and allegedly paid players to throw games in an effort to impact gambling bets.
Authorities announced the details of this investigation on Jan. 15 at a press conference that revealed disturbing news none of us wanted to hear about collegiate sports.
And the news hit close to home.
The two-year investigation focused on individuals who targeted university basketball players around the country, including an unnamed player, Person No. 13, in the indictment. According to authorities, Person 13 played for Coppin State University – a school located in Baltimore that is a member of the Mideastern Athletic Conference and, yes, a historically Black program.
A 70-page indictment explained the nature of this elaborate scheme that authorities say included the arrests of 15 former NCAA men’s Division I basketball players, who were members of their teams as recently as the 2024 season.
United States Attorney David Metcalf said a unit based out of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office conducted the investigation. He described the nature of their findings and discussed how this indictment differed from a previous investigation announced in October involving NBA players.
In that case, defendants were indicted on sports betting and money laundering charges. Former NBA players allegedly used insider information to aid betting and enrich themselves.
“The stakes here are far higher than anything on a bet slip. The criminal charges we have filed allege the criminal corruption of collegiate athletics through an international conspiracy of NCAA players, alumni and professional bettors,” Metcalf said. “It’s also yet another blow to public confidence in the integrity of sport, which rests on the fundamental principles of fairness, honesty and respect for the rules of competition. When criminal acts threaten to corrupt such a central institution of American life, the Department of Justice won’t hesitate to step in.”
And the indictment lays out sordid details of cajoling and convincing, where impressionable student-athletes were misled for the promise of money.
During the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 NCAA men’s basketball seasons, according to the indictment, the “fixers” recruited players to help change the course of the game either for a half or entire game. Wagers were placed based on the agreement to shave points.
The document tells us that the fixers traveled to campuses far and wide–to mostly low level Division I programs–to speak with players directly, though they also communicated through social media and text messages. They made offers hard to refuse, ranging from $10,000 to $30,000.
We learned from the indictment that the fixers targeted student-athletes whose financial rewards were significant windfalls, considering their limited resources or “Name-Image-Likeness” (NIL) compensation packages were paltry in comparison to the bribes.
That’s an important element to this entire mess. We’ll return here later.
The indictment alleges that fixers approached teams that were underdogs and convinced players to go along with the scheme and cover the spread in the game.
In total, the indictment alleges, about 39 players on more than 17 different Division I men’s basketball teams fixed or attempted to fix more than 39 games.
Millions were waged on these games.
Here’s how the indictment says it went down at Coppin State:
Person No. 13, according to the indictment, was contacted by Jalen Smith, of Charlotte and Antonio Blankney, of Kissimmee, Fla., during the 2024 season and agreed to “underperform” and “influence” an upcoming men’s basketball game against South Carolina State.
On March 4, 2024, Coppin State hosted South Carolina at the Physical Education Complex in Baltimore and the Bulldogs were favored by nine-point spread to win the game. Meanwhile, according to the indictment, others accused, Marvis Fairly, of Mississippi, and Shane Hennen, of Las Vegas, placed bets with several sportsbooks for South Carolina to cover the full-game spread. With the scheme set, Person No. 13 tried to impact the outcome of the game. He struggled to do so early.
At halftime of the game, with the score tied, he received a text from Smith, who voiced his concern and pleaded with him to underperform in the second half.
A text message from Smith read:
“Wtf (what the f**k) u doing[,] it need to be a blowout…You hooping yo a** off wtf (what the f**k) U supposed to be f**king losing[,] you costing us money…Get yo ass blow out next half bro…”
Person No. 13 later explained in a text that South Carolina State was playing so poorly that it was difficult to ensure that Coppin State would lose the game by more than the point spread.
He replied:
“hey (South Carolina State) so a** I couldn’t even keep they lead together im sorry for tht bro I try to tell my teammates to chill…swear I tried everything in my power second half.”
Oh, boy.
Coppin State responded to these charges with a statement from University President Anthony Jenkins, who sent the following response to the AFRO on Jan. 21:
“Neither the university, nor current student-athletes, nor staff are subjects of the indictment. The indictment focuses on a single former player who is no longer associated with the team or enrolled at Coppin State University. Behavior of this nature falls below the high standards we set for our students at Coppin and will not be tolerated. We remain committed to fostering a culture of integrity, accountability, and excellence across campus.”
This is good to know, though, it doesn’t soften the blow.
Shame on the NCAA. Shame on all of us for allowing this to grow into something so seedy and so far from what was intended with competitive sports.
This entire case speaks volumes about the untenable state of collegiate athletics, drawn out of whack today by mismanagement and greed, tied in so many dangerous ways to legal gambling.
Chew on that.
The defendants here targeted schools where student-athletes earn hundreds not millions from their NIL deals. Criminals preyed on student-athletes who earn much less money than the athletes we hear about on talk radio.
There’s not one student-athlete at Coppin State earning a million dollars per season to play any sport. That’s not how NIL works for schools in the MEAC.
But all of those athletes hear the stories about their peers at the top programs, who hop in the transfer portal and receive million-dollar offers per season. So, yeah, if the right offer comes along to shave a few points, earn a few dollars, they are thinking about it.
It’s not right, but it is real.
And for the schools like Coppin State – and other mid to lower majors – why would anyone want to watch if the integrity of the game is questionable? Everyone loses.
Until we blow up this entire NCAA system and regulate the rules so that things are more favorable for everyone involved, you will continue to hear about malfeasance, fraud and greed.
Even with the Feds watching.