Is it against the law to give an athlete money?

[sWiley]

Obviously, large amounts of money would constitute tax evasion and potential wire fraud....but....people gift others money all the time.

Say, for example, I wanted to send an athlete $1000 via paypal family and friends just because I'm a fan of their game....could I be arrested for this? (Don't worry, I'm aware of the NCAA implications, but thankfully they are not the law)

Per the IRS...."The IRS allows every taxpayer a gift up to $15,000 to an individual recipient in one year. There is no limit to the number of recipients you can give a gift to. There is also a lifetime exemption of $11.58 million."

What is there to stop someone from going on Twitter and private messaging an athlete and offering them $1000, with a message like "Hey, big fan of your athletic ability and can't wait to see you play in college. I believe you would be a great fit at *insert school here* because they need a point guard badly and your style fits their system well! Good luck on your decision!"

Any local, state, or federal laws that would be broken here? I'm not aware of any. Just curious if anyone else is.

 

[C-Bow]

You’re the best.

 

[RaiderDawg78]

Obviously, large amounts of money would constitute tax evasion and potential wire fraud....but....people gift others money all the time.

Say, for example, I wanted to send an athlete $1000 via paypal family and friends just because I'm a fan of their game....could I be arrested for this? (Don't worry, I'm aware of the NCAA implications, but thankfully they are not the law)

Per the IRS...."The IRS allows every taxpayer a gift up to $15,000 to an individual recipient in one year. There is no limit to the number of recipients you can give a gift to. There is also a lifetime exemption of $11.58 million."

What is there to stop someone from going on Twitter and private messaging an athlete and offering them $1000, with a message like "Hey, big fan of your athletic ability and can't wait to see you play in college. I believe you would be a great fit at *insert school here* because they need a point guard badly and your style fits their system well! Good luck on your decision!"

Any local, state, or federal laws that would be broken here? I'm not aware of any. Just curious if anyone else is.

No. Giving someone money/gift is not against the law.

Bribery is. Adidas executive is going to prison for funneling money to coaches, families and players to sign with Adidas schools so they would have a chance of signing the kid.

My non-lawyer understanding is if you give a gift and hope that encourages someone to go to school X, then it’s an NCAA issue. If you can in any way make personal gains (Adidas scandals) you go to jail.

 

[RaiderDawg78]

I should add, Some states have laws that allow the school to sue you for getting them in trouble as a booster.

 

[FranklinRaider315]

My entire four years at Memphis St. was under the cloud of an NCAA investigation for Football and Basketball my first three years and they hit us with a post-season ban and no TV for my Senior year (‘79). We weren’t real accomplished at cheating.
From NCAA.org (Major Infractions by institution):

Jun 22, 1979 - University of Memphis
“Improper employment, entertainment, financial aid, lodging and transportation; extra benefits; out-of-season practice, improper recruiting employment, entertainment, inducements and transportation; tryouts; academic fraud; unethical conduct; questionable practice; institutional control; certification of compliance.”

There was a stretch in the late ‘70’s and mid ‘80’s that the Pell grants were probably 85-90% car loans instead of school loans. Seriously.

 

[MT01]

My entire four years at Memphis St. was under the cloud of an NCAA investigation for Football and Basketball my first three years and they hit us with a post-season ban and no TV for my Senior year (‘79). We weren’t real accomplished at cheating.
From NCAA.org (Major Infractions by institution):

Jun 22, 1979 - University of Memphis
“Improper employment, entertainment, financial aid, lodging and transportation; extra benefits; out-of-season practice, improper recruiting employment, entertainment, inducements and transportation; tryouts; academic fraud; unethical conduct; questionable practice; institutional control; certification of compliance.”

There was a stretch in the late ‘70’s and mid ‘80’s that the Pell grants were probably 85-90% car loans instead of school loans. Seriously.

Which is surprising given that for the entire modern history of Memphis athletics Memphis has been cheating.

 

[sWiley]

I should add, Some states have laws that allow the school to sue you for getting them in trouble as a booster.

I could see this applying if you are giving money to someone who is already a student-athlete at said university......but if the money was given while the kid was a prospect and not officially signed with a school, then they shouldn't be able to sue you. I didn't force the kid to sign at X university, or any university for that matter, nor did I force him to open his mouth and disclose the donation. The donation was made purely on the basis of appreciating his basketball skills anyway. No attempts were made to force or coerce him into signing with any specific school. I just genuinely believed he would be an amazing PG for X university because they have a bunch of good spot shooters and he is one of the best assist to turnover PG's in the nation.....

Think of it like this. There are thousands of people every day donating money to streamers on websites like twitch.tv and mixer.com because they appreciate their entertainment, ability to play a video game, etc. These donations ensure that these streamers can continue to stream and play video games for your viewing pleasure.

My, or anyone elses donation to a prospect, would be no different. I am donating because I appreciate their skills as a basketball player and I want them to continue to be able to play basketball so I can continue to watch and appreciate their talents. Just like a twitch.tv streamer or really any artist/performer.

 

[RaiderDawg78]

I could see this applying if you are giving money to someone who is already a student-athlete at said university......but if the money was given while the kid was a prospect and not officially signed with a school, then they shouldn't be able to sue you. I didn't force the kid to sign at X university, or any university for that matter, nor did I force him to open his mouth and disclose the donation. The donation was made purely on the basis of appreciating his basketball skills anyway. No attempts were made to force or coerce him into signing with any specific school. I just genuinely believed he would be an amazing PG for X university because they have a bunch of good spot shooters and he is one of the best assist to turnover PG's in the nation.....

Think of it like this. There are thousands of people every day donating money to streamers on websites like twitch.tv and mixer.com because they appreciate their entertainment, ability to play a video game, etc. These donations ensure that these streamers can continue to stream and play video games for your viewing pleasure.

My, or anyone elses donation to a prospect, would be no different. I am donating because I appreciate their skills as a basketball player and I want them to continue to be able to play basketball so I can continue to watch and appreciate their talents. Just like a twitch.tv streamer or really any artist/performer.

If you give a kid money & you have ever donated to MT, you are considered a booster here. Especially if MT is recruiting the kid.

 

[sWiley]

If you give a kid money & you have ever donated to MT, you are considered a booster here. Especially if MT is recruiting the kid.

This might sound bad, but beyond buying tickets to games, I've never donated one red cent to MT.....and if I ever do in the future, I plan to do so under my girlfriends name.

am I a booster?

 

[FranklinRaider315]

Which is surprising given that for the entire modern history of Memphis athletics Memphis has been cheating.

 

[RaiderDawg78]

This might sound bad, but beyond buying tickets to games, I've never donated one red cent to MT.....and if I ever do in the future, I plan to do so under my girlfriends name.

am I a booster?

The definition is here

 

[sWiley]

"Been involved otherwise in promoting university athletics."

What a vague, awful description. So if I encourage my family members and friends to watch a college team play basketball, I'm a booster?

 

[JohnDavidBlue]

This thread. But seriously, I’d PayPal a journalist to put heat on Beavis and Butthead.

 

[RaiderDawg78]

This thread. But seriously, I’d PayPal a journalist to put heat on Beavis and Butthead.

I have considered finding an academic me too advocate online and “leaking” 7 wood’s history and his recent contract extension.

Maybe that type of pressure could create change chaos.

 

[sWiley]

That’s a great idea

 

[mtfblue]

so y'all going to hit him with the Me Too movement......damn

 

[JohnDavidBlue]

so y'all going to hit him with the Me Too movement......damn