Kansas basketball: Jayhawk fans have a right to be angry
By Stan Unruh
Kansas basketball is featured in more headlines following the recent federal indictment. One writer makes Jayhawk fans angry.
It is no surprise that the Kansas basketball program is getting a lot of unnecessary attention following the April 10 indictment that claims a former Adidas executive allegedly paid the parents or guardians of players to play basketball for Bill Self.
On Friday night, Pat Forde, who used to work for ESPN, wrote an article for Yahoo Sports. He accused the Hall of Fame coach and the Kansas basketball program of playing the part of victim in this shoe company bribery mess. As a matter of fact, KU is only playing the part of victim for one reason. That is how the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York describes it.
You have to read through the first 20 pages of the indictment to find the specifics on the alleged payments involving Kansas basketball recruits. On page 25, the indictment says the plan included hiding the alleged from the NCAA and anyone at the university.
On page 30, the indictment specifically explains that this dishonest Adidas executive
"participated in a scheme to defraud the University of Kansas (Miami, Louisville and NC State) by making these payments to the families of student athletes."
The Federal officials make it very clear that the University of Kansas is a victim. Alleged and defraud are the two most important words in the document. Kansas basketball is the victim. While the initial allegation is detrimental, the negative media surrounding the story make it worse.
Next: KU Basketball: Thanks for the memories
This writer has an obvious bias against KU
How does Forde expect the University of Kansas to act? KU claims to be a victim because it is fact, despite Forde’s suggesting the issue is debatable. Forde is a University of Missouri grad and would love nothing more than to see the Kansas basketball program as something other than a victim. He needs to write on another topic.