Barry Jackson of the MIAMI HERALD reports a possible major storm on the horizon for the University of Miami football program thanks to allegations from a now-disgraced local businessman.
Five months ago, UM’s website called Nevin Shapiro “an ardent, devoted, intense supporter.” A student lounge was named in his honor.
Now, facing years in prison for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme, Shapiro is writing a book about the UM football program in which he alleges former Canes players committed NCAA violations, said his attorney, Maria Elena Perez. Perez said Shapiro told the federal government about the violations, which are alleged to be major, but it did not investigate because “that’s not their area.”
Shapiro, who lived in a posh Miami Beach home before his April arrest, said from a New Jersey jail that he will not detail the allegations until the book is published; he’s aiming for December. He wrote a first draft and will seek a publisher. The title: The Real U: 2001 to 2010. Inside the Eye of the Hurricane.
It’s documented that former UM booster Shapiro, who was recently convicted of stealing $900 million as part of his racket, formally donated up to $300,000 to the school from what was stolen investor funds. $130,000 of that money has so far been returned to the victims of Shapiro in a bankruptcy proceeding.
Shapiro has yet to be sentenced for his crimes but will likely face significant jail time. Meanwhile, any and all proceeds from his book will go to his Ponzi victims.
Q: So if Shapiro won’t make a dime personally from the book, why hurt the school he supported for so long?
A: Shapiro learned over the years that his money and kindness didn’t buy respect from Miami players and coaches. Especially those who went on to the NFL.
“I want to make the average fan aware of what really exists under that uniform,” he said. “They might be great players, but they’re certainly not great people. I’m speaking of no less than 100 former players.”
Shapiro, 41, is angry because “once the players became pros, they turned their back on me. It made me feel like a used friend.” He was motivated by “heartbreak and disappointment on behalf of the university, which I considered to be an extended part of my family.”
He said the heartbreak was caused by “former players mostly” and “some administrative staff and coaches. I’ve always had the utmost respect for Donna Shalala, Kirby Hocutt and Paul Dee.”
Who are some of the Hurricanes Shapiro claimed to have assisted?
Jon Beason, Devin Hester, Antrel Rolle, Randy Phillips, Robert Marve, Kyle Wright and others when they played at UM, plus former UM assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Clint Hurtt, now at Louisville.
“This will be a tell-all book from a fan and booster perspective,” said Shapiro.
Seemingly all that matters in this situation is if Shapiro can produce enough evidence that proves UM coaches and administration officials knew of him providing illegal benefits to players. But in this particular case, there could be much more to the story. At least as it pertains to how the NCAA responds to Shapiro’s charges.
Much more.
That man who put the beatdown on USC recently for its “lacks of institutional control” on behalf of the NCAA was Committee on Infractions Chairman Paul Dee. The same Dee who was longtime counsel and Athletic Director at the University of Miami. Dee has since resigned his post as AD, but was still presiding over the UM athletic dept. from 2001-2008. (Shapiro claims his book will detail impropriety between 2001-2010.)
This is also the same Dee who used testimony from convicted felon Lloyd Lake as the primary source in the NCAA’s investigation of the link between the USC football program and the illegal benefits Reggie Bush and his family received from Lake and partner Michael Michaels.
Dee is now retired from the “The U.” but still serves as the point man for doling out justice to any football program that violates NCAA rules. So will he recuse himself if the NCAA decides to pursue Shapiro’s claims? And will the NCAA take Shapiro as seriously as Dee took Lake when justifying the harsh penalties given the USC football program?
What we learned with the USC situation, and the penalties Miami received in ‘95 when Dee was just beginning his Coral Gables tenure, is that media coverage of alleged impropriety is predictive as to the level of sanctions a program receives. As I’ve documented, the Miami program was only sanctioned by the NCAA after extensive coverage of off-field shenanigans by the same Miami Herald and SPORTS ILLUSTRATED.
Same goes for USC. Without Yahoo breaking the story of extra benefits provided Reggie Bush and his parents, for all we know the Trojans would’ve never been cited for any violations.
The thing to watch in this current Miami case is how the media perceives the credibility of Shapiro. If his allegations come off as legitimate and he doesn’t get too caught up with personal attacks, Shapiro may be able to affect the severity of penalties the school might receive.
That may sound obvious, but understand than in its report of why it sanctioned USC so heavily, the NCAA never came close to proving a direct link between USC and those who gave Bush extra benefits. No, the reason USC was saddled with the worst NCAA penalties since the SMU death penalty was the fallout of the Yahoo media reports on the subject.
Convicted felon Lloyd Lake was no more than a street agent who contradicted himself in testimony to the NCAA about what USC knew about benefits given to Bush and his family. Yet it was Lake’s testimony, and more specifically, the Yahoo coverage fueled by Lake’s allegations, that brought down the Trojans.
5:18 pm on August 29th, 2010
An extended member of his family but he wants to bring them down? Nice family man. I’m not a Miami fan but I hate to see this.
5:56 pm on August 29th, 2010
Teresa I love to see this. LOVE is too light. I YEARN to see this
6:44 pm on August 29th, 2010
The Miami family, players treated this guy like crap. I don’t blame him.
The only thing I don’t like is, like Reggie Bush and Pete Carroll and Lame Kiffin, etc. the guys who took the illegal money never paid the piper.
It’s always the school after-the-fact, and the younger players who are penalized.
Still, I have little sympathy for them too because many of them are taking $$ under the table, in addition to their free education.
6:54 pm on August 29th, 2010
So do I. I want every program out there that’s dirty to be exposed and hammered by the NCAA, no matter who they are.
8:29 pm on August 29th, 2010
What makes these programs dirty? Everyone benefits from these students except for the students themselves. The majority of them NEVER realize the dream of playing in the NFL as promised by recruiters. So they receive some benefits? Maybe some money? Who cares. They sacrifice their bodies to entertain people. I hope all of them get paid on the side. The NCAA is a joke. A greedy one at that. They should be investigated.
1:52 am on August 30th, 2010
He was trying to get his sentence for the Ponzi scheme lightened by squealing on someone else, in this case UM.
6:29 am on August 30th, 2010
To say that the athletes should get paid because they sacrifice their bodies to entertain people is a joke, they already receive a free education, not that they care because some of these athletes can’t even read, but only a handful are entertaining, the rest are just extras in the show and people could care less about them, why should those scrubs get paid? I do agree the NCAA is the real problem they could care less this is going on , they only investigate when something like this breaks out. Kentucky should be going down next.
8:21 am on August 30th, 2010
A jackass behind a Ponzi scheme is upset that his family didn’t support him once they turned pro. This shows just how intelligent the U players actually are. They were smart enough not to get caught up in this idiot’s Ponzi scheme.
He’s a crook and a liar — an unbelievably poor excuse for a human being. Now, he’s a rat on a sinking ship.
Q: Since when can a convicted felon make money on a book he writes? Shouldn’t that cash go to his victims?
9:11 am on August 30th, 2010
Miami was/is dirty???? Shocking.
9:26 am on August 30th, 2010
I just want to know when we are going to see the photo of Shaq bench pressing him.
11:56 am on August 30th, 2010
Ron’s got the right idea. This guy is squealing like a stuck pig only because he got caught doing something illegal, and is trying to lighten up his case a bit. If he did not get caught, everything would be OK. All of these sports ‘boo$ter$’ take an expected risk of getting nothing in return from these players when/if they make it big. Why? There are no contracts for this type of ‘pay for play’ because it is ILLEGAL! Only the school suffers the consequences, as it should. The NCAA is a joke, in part because the NFL does not draft out of high school. Everyone is making money off of these kids at all levels. Yeah, they get a free ‘education’ dangled in front of them, but only a small percentage actually get the degrees. Most are out before they graduate, that’s if they’re lucky enough to stay on the squad to qualify for the scholarship. The colleges expect this, and so do the players and coaches. It is no longer just about winning. It is about TV contracts, bowl proceeds, and sponsorships - it’s a business. To get those and be successful, you need to put the best players on the field (that money can buy). If not, the good players go elsewhere. I say kudos to the kids for playing the system, one that the NCAA, NFL, their $ponsors, and boo$ter$ built.
12:58 pm on August 30th, 2010
EricR, This guy didn’t squeal to lighten his sentence. He is being charged with the same crimes and guidelines regardless. People around the U have heard about this guy for years. He doled out dough to many, many players over the years. My guess is they treated him like shit and now he wants payback after having nothing more to lose.
1:24 pm on August 30th, 2010
It seems that this guy has already been sentenced, and the prosecutors weren’t interested in his allegations of NCAA violations. So the motive behind this book wouldn’t be to lighten his sentence.
I’m guessing that he’s planning on using the book to lighten his money troubles. I’m sure he’s got big lawyer bills, and maybe even a family to support, but more importantly he probably has a huge restitution/fine he has to pay to the government once he gets out. It might help his chances at parole if he can show he did so by the time of his first parole hearing.
And note that the book hasn’t found a publisher yet. Without “shocking” allegations of U. of M. impropriety, then he would continue to have trouble finding a publisher. I’m guessing that he’s leaking this info to stir up some “buzz” to get a publisher interested.
1:44 pm on August 30th, 2010
As for the part about college football players getting an “education”, that seems further and further from reality. Forget for a moment that most don’t graduate. Look instead at the quality of the education they receive.
My daughter was a scholarship rower, so she got to see the inside of an NCAA athletic department and it’s treatment of athletes. She told me stories about unsupervised “finals” for athletes, where the proctor handed out the tests and then left the room so they could pull out their tutor’s notes and discuss the answers among themselves. Once football player she’s friends with is working toward a “general education” major - which was a new one for me. She asked us to help a friend of hers who actually graduated and made it into the NFL to put together a nonprofit charity for him (at the advice of his agent), only for us to find that his writing skills were at about 6th grade level.
Generally, there’s a lot of college football players who expect to do just barely enough to keep eligible, with the assistance of the athletic department, and hold onto the unrealistic hopes of an NFL career afterwards.
Of course, there are plenty of exceptions, and our experiences are only limited to three Universities, but there it is….
2:53 pm on August 30th, 2010
This guy is another Athletic Supporter who buys into the AD rhetoric of “be a part of the team.”
Why should the athletes give a damn about him once they made the pros? Would he give a damn about them if they played in the music conservatory? or majored in environmental science?
It is the job of the AD to stroke the “whales” who donate big funds to the athletic programs. It is the job of the players to make those programs competitively elite on the field. Yes, it IS a job and it requires as much effort as any other student who works a full-time job so shut the pieholes about “they get a free education.”
It ain’t free. They bust their a$$es for it.
3:50 pm on August 30th, 2010
He gave them money and gifts so when they turned pro, they’d either invest with him or create him an agent - They saw through his scheme and never bought in-So he wants his pound of flesh.
8:05 am on August 31st, 2010
im shocked that brooks found a way to make this about USC! Wow, didn’t see that one coming. Also, please stop referencing the SMU death penalty. What USC was handed down by the NCAA is no where near the death penalty. USC is not about to go on 25 year journey through the college football wilderness with zero support from the fans, media (especially media), and the institution. Simple as that. As for Miami, this should surprise no-one.
7:59 am on September 1st, 2010
There are so many U haters out there as usual. Why do people say,”it does not surprise me about the U being caught up in this.” I mean the real truth is that probably 100 percent of college football players do this. Come on let’s be realistic, if you’re 19 or 20 years old and someone offers some money when you don’t have a job, would you actually say no I can’t take that money. Seriously, this is the system’s fault, just like how in the NBA you have to attend college for one year before being drafted. This players only register for one semester and probably fail but they get to play for some college for one year and then get drafted to make millions. The system is ridiculous and so are the people who take any chance to get on the U’s case. Come on don’t hate Miami for it’s talent or because we are a diverse community and i think that’s what people hate.
12:04 am on August 17th, 2011
Very interesting story indeed!!