Two University of Kentucky men’s basketball players were ruled ineligible prior to this season according to a report by the Courier-Journal.
The players were working out with former Louisville player Chris Brickley, a popular personal trainer for NBA players.
The names of the two players were not reported by UK, but Nick Richards and Hamidou Diallo appeared in Instagram posts by the trainer.
Here is an excerpt:
The violation, dated Feb. 1, 2018, and obtained by Courier Journal through the state’s open records law, reveals two basketball players worked for free with former Louisville player Chris Brickley, a popular personal trainer for NBA stars, for two weeks during summer vacation. A member of the NCAA enforcement development staff emailed UK’s compliance office with links to online posts about the student-athletes working out with Brickley.
The names of the two players are redacted from UK’s self-reported violation, but the description of the violation notes both players live in the New York City metro area. Freshman forward Nick Richards and redshirt freshman guard Hamidou Diallo, the two players matching that description on UK’s roster, were shown working out with Brickley in Instagram posts from August, the timeframe the violation occurred, according to documents provided by UK.
Here’s an excerpt on how the situation was resolved:
Brickley did not respond to UK’s phone calls or text messages requesting information about the standard rate he charges professionals for his services, but the NCAA enforcement staff informed the school that in similar cases local rates for training services were used to determine the amount owed. UK averaged four different training rates in Kentucky to determine an average rate of $37.75 per training session, meaning one player owed $188.75 and the other $302.
The athletes were required to pay the value of their training to a charity of their choice as restitution and declared ineligible until reinstated by the NCAA. Rules education was also provided to the entire men’s basketball team and coaching staff, and the violation was reviewed at a monthly compliance meeting for all sports.
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