Former Florida Gators center Maurkice Pouncey plans to deny allegations that he accepted $100,000 from the associate of an agent between the 2009 Southeastern Conference Championship and 2010 Sugar Bowl, according to ESPN’s Joe Schad.
Pouncey, who is currently being investigated by the NCAA and University of Florida for a potential rules violation, has “provided phone, bank and credit card statements that do not show large payments,” Schad reports.
The No. 18 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, he and his family plan to deny the allegation of accepting an illegal monetary gift on Tuesday.
In an interesting twist, Schad notes that the letter sent to tip off Florida about the 2010 Rimington Trophy winner “contained photographic evidence of an alleged runner for an agent in social situations” and was postmarked in Canada.
A source tells The Miami Herald that a “Lakeland-based ‘runner’ was used in the transaction between Pouncey and the jilted sports agent” who allegedly paid Pouncey $100,000 only to see him sign with Joel Segal of Lagardère Unlimited instead of his firm.
Pouncey also told investigators that a Cadillac Escalade and pieces of jewelry he owns were purchased after the draft with a deferred line of credit, similar to what LeBron James’ mother Gloria received when her son was on his way to the NBA. These possessions were shared with his brother, senior center Mike Pouncey, on occasion.
ProFootballTalk.com adds that “a separate source with knowledge of the Pouncey family tells us that, in the source’s opinion, it’s 99.99 percent likely that the Pounceys did not accept cash or other benefits from an agent before [his] eligibility expired.”
“We were made aware of some information in early June that we reported to law enforcement and we then shared with the NCAA and the SEC,” Gators athletic director Jeremy Foley said in a statement Monday morning. “At this time we have no information that has indicated that there are any compliance issues for the University of Florida.”
OGGOA will continue updating this story as more information is made available.
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why would maurkice leave without Mike? Something IS fishy
Thanks for the updates Adam. Glad to hear it. I had a hard time believing this was the case with Maurkice
“why would maurkice leave without Mike? Something IS fishy”
At the time, I read that Mike was going to stay at UF b/c he wasn’t likely to go in the 1st Round like Maurkice was. So he decided to stay another year & hope to improve his chances of going in the 1st Round.
Correct Brooke.
Something fishy about him leaving? You must not follow the Gators very closely or college football for that matter.
The letter that included the allegations came unsigned but did Lane leave a return address?
Seeing that tweet from Joe Schad stating that the letter sent to UF making the allegations against Maurkice Pouncey was postmarked in Canada tells me that somebody’s trying to frame this kid and cast a bad light on UF. Yet so many “sources” and very little substance……
Seeing that his brother Mike will still be speaking at the upcoming SEC Media days tells me that somebody may be playing a practical joke on UF that ceases to be funny. If there was any real evidence of guilt on Maurkice’s part, I’m sure UF would have replaced Mike with another player.
At least I’m glad Jeremy Foley was proactive on this and reported it to the NCAA instead of sweeping it under the rug; nobody can accuse us of lack of institutional control there. Good to see that Maurkice is cooperating with the investigation as well.
All said, Maurkice is innocent until proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt.
I wouldn’t call it a “practical joke” or any type of joke. Letter probably came from the jilted agent who sent it from outside the country in order to not have it lead back to him.
Can’t wait to see this get resolved. Who needs this uncertainty lurking around the program. As the details come out, what started out as very startling, is starting to look very hokey. If Maurkice is providing all of his financial records and personal information it shouldn’t take long to clear him unless he took the alleged payment in cash.
Has anyone ever seen $100,000.00 in under the table cash sitting in front of them? I have. It’s jaw dropping. Considering the adulation these guys get and their egos, it wouldn’t surprise me to see any student athlete accept a chunk of coin like that.
Regardless of the outcome, I just want to see this thing get resolved quickly.
Adam, you can run but you can’t hide. Rarely is any stone left unturned in an investigation nowadays, and based on the way all this is transpiring I still think this was a setup – and ultimately the perpetrator will be revealed. I also question the timing of all this seeing that SEC Media Days starts tomorrow. Something definitely isn’t kosher here; somebody has it out for this kid or UF in general as I see it.
Not sure what “you can run but you can’t hide” has to do with calling it a “practical joke.” Timing-wise, I’m not sure what you are getting at either – this began SIX weeks ago – not yesterday. As far as it being a “setup,” I’m not sure about that either – but I have no doubt that Pouncey either turning away one agent for another could have caused some sour grapes, for example. But yes, being one of the top programs, everyone is out to get UF. You should be used to that by now.
And keep in mind that any agent that had contact with Pouncey – regardless of any money accepted or passed on – is going to want to avoid being caught because he would be facing felony charges from the state of Florida.
It sounds like the family is cooperating fully and if all these purchases were made with a deferred line of credit then there is ample evidence that will prove that. The only part that worries me at all is that even if an agent did hunt them down and they both told him to go stick it, the NCAA is still likely to consider that a violation even though they didn’t initiate contact and Maurkice didn’t take any money.
From what I’ve been reading, it’s my opinion that there’s little substance to all this – not only that, Maurkice is innocent until proven guilty.
As far as the timing that this episode was released to the MEDIA, that’s what I’m questioning – knowing that SEC Media Days start tomorrow and Mike Pouncey is scheduled to be one of the players representing UF.
If indeed what SC is saying is true, then the agents are the ones who should be penalized under Florida law.
I’m a SysAdmin, not a lawyer… but when the SEC took down Trent Black for ripping off a bunch of NFL players with a ponzi scheme, a few years back it was only after the UF PD and the state of Florida took a hammer to him for violating agent laws by contacting a number of UF players without having been registered and licensed in the state of Florida. I think in some states it’s a minor law, if it’s even a law at all, but Florida with all it’s HS and College players makes it a felony with 5 years of prison possible if the judge decides to get heavy handed with the agent. And that’s per basis… contact with both the brothers would be a possible max 10 years.
Here is the law in question…
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0468/SEC4561.HTM&Title=-%3E2009-%3ECh0468-%3ESection%204561#0468.4561
It can be 15 years in prison with a huge fine. The school can also sue for punitive damages, which would be even more.
Allow me to clarify a couple of issues. 1) It is not an NCAA violation for student-athletes to meet with or to take calls from agents or their runners. 2) It would only become an NCAA violation if the student-athlete accepts goods / services / cash / trips, etc. 3) at this point, under Florida Law, the Agent or Agent representative or both could be subject to 2nd degree felony charges which could result in up to 15 yr prison sentance and/or $10,000.00 fine, if convicted.
Now, why I believe this to be a hoax, is due to the fact that; said individual just opened themselves up to prosecution under Florida Law. If this indeed, took place. Stupid! I wouldn’t want that agent as my rep.
*sentence* – edit button, please.
Even if the agent didn’t offer anything, meeting with him without notifying the school as well is still a violation of state law.
And yeah, that’s why I’m still very doubtful on the validity of the charge. Even if the agent did give Pouncey 100k, all of this isn’t going to get him his money back. Other then sour grapes, there doesn’t seem to be any way to profit from this coming out, and the risk of a record and serious prison time is just so damn high.
I’m starting to wonder if some of these tip-offs of alleged NCAA violations are actually attempts to hurt the programs. Even if the accused player(s) is/are innocent, it’s a distraction & added stress-maker for the head coach and possibly creates division in the team (guys choosing whether or not to believe the accused player[s]). There are many head coaches that I could easily see being capable of this (*cough*Kiffykins*cough*).