Widely circulated reports online today cite one current and two former University of Kentucky basketball players as part of the ongoing FBI investigation. A Yahoo Sports report today included information from documents and bank records.
UK Junior Grant Smith of Cincinnati is not overly concerned. “I don’t think they are too serious. I think the Kevin Knox thing is just over a meal and that can be paid back. So that’s no problem,” said Smith. “I don’t know about any of the other allegations.
The online report also states former UK players Bam Adebayo and Nerlens Noel were listed for receiving payments from a professional sports agency. UK was one of 20 schools mentioned in the report. Burlington UK student Sydney Shearer offered this thought upon hearing the news. “It’s a little concerning, just because it’s not supposed to happen, but other than that, I’m not surprised, I’m sure schools do it all over. I’ve heard a bunch of stories about it,” noted Shearer.
UK student Alan Hamilton of Louisville believes there are similar issues across the college basketball spectrum. “Like it seems like they’re just investigating into the agencies paying. But, it will be interesting to see if they can link it going through Kentucky, like they did at Louisville,” said Hamilton. “So, hopefully, we’ll turn out OK.”
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports this afternoon that UK Coach John Calipari stated today neither he nor any of his staff have utilized any agent to provide benefits to current or former players.?
The newspaper also says Calipari and top university administrators released statements today pledging full cooperation with appropriate authorities.
