NCAA Bribery Scandal: Trio Of Coaches Freed On Bond

Three coaches charged in a massive college basketball bribery scheme are each out on $100,000 bail following initial federal court appearances.

Chuck Person, an assistant coach at Auburn, Arizona assistant coach Emanuel Richardson and Tony Bland, an assistant at Southern California, were arrested two weeks ago. They were released Tuesday.

Person declined to comment as he left the Manhattan courtroom. Attorney David Axelrod, representing Arizona assistant coach Richardson, said the affect of the case on his client was devastating. And Bland, an assistant at Southern California, declined to comment, but his attorney, Lichtman, called him a good man.

Person and Evans were suspended and Bland was placed on administrative leave.

Lamont Evans, an assistant coach at Oklahoma State and six others were also arrested.

Federal authorities said the men helped to steer young athletes toward schools, shoe sponsors and agents using hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes.

The men were arrested in the states where they reside, but they will be required to travel to New York as the case proceeds.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker ordered the men to relinquish their passports and to remain confined to their home districts and the New York area, unless they get prior permission to travel.

Person, associate head coach at Auburn, was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in 1986 and played for five NBA teams over 13 seasons. Prosecutors said Person accepted about $91,500 in bribes last year to steer clients to a Pittsburgh-based financial adviser when they reached the NBA.

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press

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