Former Clemson basketball forward Jaron Blossomgame accepted money from outside sources, according to a report from Yahoo! Sports released on Friday morning.
Along with Blossomgame, P.J. Dozier, a former basketball player at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, also received money from outside sources.
FBI documents obtained by Yahoo! Sports show that a total of $7,215 was given to the two players — $1,100 to Blossomgame and $6,115 to Dozier. Both received the money while still enrolled at their respective universities.
Clemson University athletic director Dan Radakovich and basketball coach Brad Brownell responded to the reports on Friday, according to an article from Tigernet.com.
“Clemson was made aware of an issue regarding a former student-athlete through this morning’s media reports. We received no inquiries or prior notice from anyone, and we’re in the process of reviewing the matter,” Radakovich said.
“I’ve been in college basketball for over 25 years and I’ve always tried to conduct myself within the rules and have held my staff and players to the same standard,” Brownell said. “Because I do not have any personal knowledge about the current investigation, I won’t comment or speculate about that matter. We’ll cooperate with any agency looking into the issue if they contact us.”
Brownell made no further comments during Friday afternoon’s press conference.
“I don’t have anything to comment on about the story this morning other than my comment that we put out,” Brownell said. “I’m not gonna get into those details or any of that kind of stuff.”
The NCAA does not prohibit all contact between collegiate athletes and agents, but the use of any benefit (money, gifts or gift cards) for athletes is strictly banned.
Looking into the future, this could have an effect on future scholarships and postseason bans.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.