By Joel A. Erickson, McClatchy Newspapers –
AUBURN, Ala. — The history of NCAA involvement in point-shaving scandals indicates that Auburn likely faces little chance of sanctions stemming from the FBI’s investigation into suspended Tigers guard Varez Ward.
Ward had not been charged as of Friday night, but al.com reported Thursday that Ward has privately acknowledged federal authorities seized his phone and questioned him with a lie detector test.
Point shaving falls under federal laws against sports bribery, which include an athlete taking payment in exchange for intentionally altering the game’s final score to affect the point spread.
Federal authorities become involved because the gambling or criminal activity involved crosses state lines.
Betting information on Auburn games from Las Vegas and offshore sports books indicate no abnormalities. According to Covers.com, that evidence suggests local involvement with the possible point-shaving scheme. Ward is from Montgomery, Ala.
“There’s usually somebody paying the player to keep the game within a certain point spread,” said James L. Wiggins, a former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. “The gamblers are usually indicted and face time, and the player can also be indicted.”
The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer examined five cases of possible point shaving in college sports the last 20 years. One, an allegation against unnamed Hawaii football players, was not investigated by the Honolulu police department for lack of information.
“The NCAA takes any allegation of point shaving very seriously because sports wagering threatens two of our core principles — the well-being of student athletes and the very integrity of intercollegiate sport,” the NCAA stated Thursday.
None of the other four scandals resulted in NCAA sanctions against the schools involved. In each case, the schools involved — Arizona State, Northwestern and Toledo — were unaware of the point-shaving schemes and notified the NCAA immediately.
In a statement released Thursday — corroborated by Yahoo Sports, the organization that broke the story — Auburn indicated it acted quickly after learning of the allegations against Ward.
“Auburn officials were made aware of a rumor regarding an allegation two weeks ago and immediately reported it to the FBI, the NCAA and the SEC,” the statement read.
Penalties usually fall to the players and gamblers involved. According to NCAA bylaws, any player convicted of sports bribery is ineligible for competition.
The other four all resulted in federal indictments and convictions against the players.
Former Arizona State basketball player Hedake Smith pled guilty to fixing games during the 1994 season, and he was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. Teammate Isaac Burton received two months in jail and three years probation.
In November of 1998, former Northwestern basketball players Dion Lee and Dewey Williams were sentenced to one month in prison and two-year probation for trying to fix games against Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan. Wildcats running back Dennis Lundy received the same sentence for lying to a federal grand jury about his involvement in a points-shaving scheme.
Three Toledo football players have pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Charges are still pending against the three Toledo basketball players that were indicted for their roles in point-shaving schemes that took place from 2004-2006.
Federal statutes carry a maximum of five years involved, but the age and relatively clean legal history of most college athletes usually means lighter penalties.
“If you’re talking about a college kid, yeah,” Wiggins said. “You definitely consider the age of the accused involved and any prior records they might have.”
Ward, who maintains his innocence according to the al.com report, has no prior record other than traffic tickets.
