NCAA president responds to integrity concerns after alleged point-shaving scheme leads to dozens of arrests

The NCAA said that protecting the "integrity" of its athletics is "of the utmost importance" for the enactment aft astatine slightest 26 radical were charged Thursday successful transportation with fixed assemblage hoops games, and urged states to "ban risky bets."

Prosecutors said the alleged participants bribed Chinese Basketball Association players successful 2022 "to underperform and assistance guarantee their squad failed to screen the dispersed successful definite games and then, done assorted sports books, arranged for ample wagers to beryllium placed connected those games against that team."

The pursuing year, the participants allegedly expanded their strategy to the NCAA, recruiting players and paying bribes betwixt $10,000 and $30,000 per game.

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NCAA President Charlie Baker and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell denote a gambling prevention programme aimed astatine kids during a property league astatine TD Garden. The programme includes a schoolhouse program connected the risks of gambling that volition beryllium rolled retired to schools statewide, arsenic good arsenic caller wealth towards probe to recognize the scope of the problem.  (Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

According to the indictment, much than 39 players connected 17 antithetic teams attempted to hole much than 29 NCAA Division I men’s hoops games, including league tourney contests. The organizers of the alleged strategy placed wagers totaling millions of dollars.

"Protecting contention integrity is of the utmost value for the NCAA. We are thankful for instrumentality enforcement agencies moving to observe and combat integrity issues and lucifer manipulation successful assemblage sports," NCAA President Charlie Baker said successful a statement.

Baker said the indictments were "not wholly caller accusation to the NCAA," arsenic it had conducted "integrity investigations into astir 40 student-athletes from 20 schools implicit the past year."

The NCAA logo connected entranceway motion extracurricular of the NCAA Headquarters connected Feb. 28, 2023 successful Indianapolis, Indiana.  (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

FEDERAL PROSECUTORS INDICT 26 PEOPLE FOR ALLEGEDLY FIXING COLLEGE BASKETBALL GAMES IN WIDESPREAD CONSPIRACY

The NCAA added that 11 athletes from 7 schools were "recently recovered to person stake connected their ain performances, shared accusation with known bettors, and/or engaged successful crippled manipulation to cod connected bets they — oregon others — placed" and person since been permanently banned.

"Additionally, 13 student-athletes from eight schools (including immoderate of those identified above) were recovered to person failed to cooperate successful the sports betting integrity probe by providing mendacious oregon misleading information, failing to provide relevant documentation and/or refusing to be interviewed by the enforcement staff. None of them are competing today," Baker added.

Baker besides called connected states to ace down connected "threats to integrity," specifically prop bets, "to amended support athletes and leagues from integrity risks and predatory bettors. We also will continue to cooperate fully with instrumentality enforcement. We urge all student-athletes to marque well-informed choices to debar jeopardizing the crippled and their eligibility."

The chargers connected Thursday included bribery successful sporting contests, conspiracy to perpetrate ligament fraud, and ligament fraud.

"[Defendants] aided and abetted the carrying into effect, the effort to transportation into effect, and the conspiracy to transportation into effect, a strategy successful commerce to power by bribery sporting contests, that is, Chinese Basketball Association ("CBA") men's hoops games and National Collegiate Athletic Association ("NCAA") men's hoops games, with the defendants engaging successful antithetic aspects of this scheme, with cognition that the intent of this strategy was to power successful immoderate mode those contests by bribery," the indictment said.

General presumption of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship crippled betwixt the University of Kentucky Wildcats and the University of Florida Gators astatine the Georgia Dome connected March 14, 2004, successful Atlanta, Georgia. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

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The announcement follows the national government’s crackdown connected illicit sports gambling and point-shaving schemes that progressive the NBA successful October.

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