Kudos to ABC 11 and Mark Armstrong for his continuing great coverage of the scandal involving UNC football’s program. This latest report really doesn’t sound good for UNC football fans considering the documented relationship between former UNC associate head coach John Blake and sports agent Gary Wichard. The two have been linked by both phone records and financial transactions during Blake’s tenure in Chapel Hill. Now, there appears to be an established link between Wichard and Marvin’s high school football coach as well.
RALEIGH — ABC11 has obtained a copy of a search warrant filed by the North Carolina Secretary of State’s office as it looks into whether North Carolina’s sports agent laws were broken in the recent UNC football scandal…
…The warrant says Austin admitted to having his former high school coach Todd Amis pay for flights to California and that he spoke to Wichard on both trips. Wichard admitted phone calls with Austin starting January of 2009, but said he never gave Austin anything.
Invoices show that Wichard’s company Pro Tect Management LLC paid for changes to one of Austin’s flights. Amis later said he was reimbursed for one flight by Wichard.
The warrant, addressed to Bank of America, seeks bank records of an account belonging to Wichard. It alleges that Todd Amis, Austin’s former high school assistant coach, paid for Austin to travel to California in March 2009 and July 2009.
According to the warrant, Amis said Wichard paid $1,000 for Austin’s March 2009 flight to California, where he trained at a facility called Pro Active Sports with former teammate Kentwan Balmer.
Amis provided a canceled check from Pro Tect Management – Wichard’s company – dated March 3, 2009 in the amount of $1,000, according to the warrant. The check was signed by Wichard.
For those that need a refresher on the financial ties between Wichard and Blake, then Yahoo’s Charles Robinson has done wonderful work on this story:
• At least six wire transfers from Wichard’s private bank – The First National Bank of Long Island – to Blake.
• A $45,000 personal loan to Blake from The First National Bank of Long Island.
• A Pro Tect Management credit card issued in Blake’s name.
A source familiar with the secretary of state’s probe told Yahoo! Sports that Blake has discussed the existence of the transactions with investigators.
A North Carolina attorney for Blake, Wade Smith, declined to comment on Blake’s testimony for state officials. But Smith said there is no evidence showing Blake steered players to Wichard, and added that his client has been open with investigators.
“John Blake has cooperated fully with the secretary of state in North Carolina,†Smith said. “He has met with representatives of the secretary of state and has been very cooperative with them.â€
If the NCAA were to determine that a coach was acting as a “runner†to deliver players to an agent, the coach could be subject to bylaw 10.1, which determines unethical conduct of staff members. That bylaw bars the “receipt of benefits by an institutional staff member for facilitating or arranging a meeting between a student-athlete and an agent, financial advisor, or a representative of an agent or financial advisor.â€
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