Izzo’s History With Agent In College Basketball Scandal Isn’t As Shady As You May Think
UPDATE: MSU has cleared Miles Bridges to play in regular season finale at Wisconsin
An exclusive report from Yahoo mentions Tom Izzo and the mother of Miles Bridges as having been involved with Christian Dawkins, a sports agent with ASM Sports.
ASM Sports is the sports agency that is currently at the center of attention in the FBI's investigation into college basketball corruption. Portions of their ledgers and record books have been made public, detailing cash advances, covered expenses and other monetary dealings that are likely against NCAA rules. These ledgers allege that Dawkins arranged improper cash benefits of about $500 for Bridges' mother, Cynthia, and also show that Dawkins had several paid dinners with Izzo.
While this may appear sketchy on the surface, when you figure out who exactly Dawkins is to Izzo and vice-versa, the fact that they have a relationship should not surprise anybody.
There is, of course, the obvious relation: One is a college basketball coach at a major university and the other an agent at a prominent sports agency. But there is a more personal side to it.
Izzo knew Dawkins' father, Lou Dawkins, from his being head coach of Saginaw High boys basketball from 2005-2011. In that window of time Izzo successfully recruited one of Dawkins' players to play at Michigan State: Draymond Green.
There is also a tragic connection between the two. Christian Dawkins' younger brother, Dorian, collapsed during a summer youth tournament held at MSU in 2009. He was rushed to a hospital, where he later died. He was 14 years old.
That's not to say definitively that Izzo and Christian Dawkins were acquainted before their interactions as big-time college basketball coach and sports agent, respectively. But it also stands to reason that they had met prior because of the circumstances.
Christian Dawkins is one of several who have been charged by the feds with wire fraud and money laundering in the college basketball corruption case. Izzo and MSU released a statement after Yahoo's report denying any wrongdoing.