Charges of fixing college basketball

Gamblers allegedly bribed former players of 17 Division I teams in point-shaving plot.

- BY STEVE HENSON

Twenty-six people were charged in connection with an alleged bribery and point-shaving scheme involving men’s basketball games at the NCAA Division I and Chinese professional levels, U.S. Atty. David Metcalf announced Thursday in Pennsylvania.

The bribery charges carry a maximum sentence of five years and the fraud charges up to 20 years.

The indictment is the latest in a string of illegal gambling and game-fixing episodes in the seven years since the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, the federal statute that restricted legal betting to primarily Nevada.

Dozens of professional and college athletes and coaches have been suspended, fired or prosecuted for alleged gambling violations. This latest indictment only adds to the ledger.

"This was a massive scheme that enveloped the world of college basketball," Metcalf said. "This was a significant and rampant corruption of college athletics."

The most prominent player named in the indictment was Antonio Blakeney, the leading scorer at Louisiana State in 2016-17 and a veteran of two seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The shooting guard has played for professional teams in China, Israel and Bahrain since last playing in the NBA in 2019. The indictment describes Blakeney as being "charged elsewhere."