madmikeisback Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 http://sports.yahoo.com/investigations/news;_ylt=AtjjYsWMmRDj7d_AUZflfGZRMuB_?slug=ys-vince_wilfork_allegations Miami booster Nevin Shapiro alleges he provided Vince Wilfork with multiple extra benefits following Wilfork’s freshman season and lasting through the defensive tackle’s final game with the Hurricanes. Among the benefits the booster claims to have provided: VINCE WILFORK Position: Defensive tackle Rivals recruiting rank: Unranked. Wilfork was a SuperPrep and USA Today All-American in the Class of 2001. Miami career: Wilfork played three seasons at Miami, emerging as a key rotational player during his true freshman season in 2001. He was one of college football’s top defensive linemen during his junior season, departing early for the NFL and being selected by the New England Patriots with the 21st overall pick in the 2004 draft. He is currently an All-Pro with the Patriots. • A $50,000 lump sum payment during Wilfork’s junior season. Shapiro said the payment was made to secure Wilfork’s commitment to Shapiro’s sports agency, Axcess Sports, which he co-owned with then-NFL agent and current UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue. Wilfork eventually signed with Axcess Sports and his first NFL contract was negotiated by Huyghue. • Multiple cash gifts totaling in the thousands of dollars. • Three bounty payments totaling $1,250. A bounty of $500 was paid for a sack and unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Wilfork in a 41-16 win over Florida on Sept. 7, 2002. A second bounty of $250 was paid for a sack by Wilfork in a 38-33 win over Florida on Sept. 6, 2003. A third bounty of $500 was paid for a fumble recovery by Wilfork in a 22-14 win over Florida State on Oct. 11, 2003. • Multiple trips to nightclubs where Shapiro paid for VIP access and drinks. • Multiple fishing and leisure trips on the booster’s $1.6 million yacht. • Multiple meals at Miami-area restaurants. • Lodging, food and drinks at Shapiro’s $2.7 million Miami Beach home. • A washer and dryer worth approximately $1,500, which was picked up at the home of Shapiro’s mother by Wilfork, Santonio Thomas and one of Shapiro’s employees. Corroborating accounts Multiple sources say this photo of Wilfork was taken in Shapiro’s VIP section at Opium Garden nightclub in Miami Beach in 2003. • One source corroborated Shapiro’s account of the $50,000 cash payment, verifying they were on hand and witnessed the cash being taken from a box in a locked drawer [the source referred to it as Shapiro’s “drawer safe”] on the second floor of Shapiro’s home and delivered to Wilfork and his then-fiancée in a paper bag. The source described the cash as five stacks of $10,000, each bound in a bank ribbon. • Two sources corroborated Shapiro having provided Wilfork with drinks and VIP access at various nightclubs. Yahoo! Sports also obtained photos of Wilfork sitting in Shapiro’s VIP section at the Opium Garden nightclub in 2003. • One source corroborated Shapiro providing Wilfork with lodging, food and drinks at the former booster’s home. • Yahoo! Sports also obtained a photo of Wilfork and other players with Shapiro at Japanese steakhouse Benihana in 2003. • Two sources corroborated Shapiro providing Wilfork with the washer and dryer. In Shapiro’s words • “[i asked Wilfork] ‘What’s it going to take for [you] to sign with Axcess [sports]?’ We gave him $50,000 in cash. He was in the middle of his junior [season]. After that, I was at the draft day party with him – which we put together for him.” • “He was on my boat a number of times. He stayed at my house. He was in my house. We were in the clubs, although he wasn’t a club guy – but he was there at least 10 times with me. I gave him cash any number of times, just on the cuff, no real reason other than extra help with money.” This photo was taken at Wilfork’s draft day party at GameWorks in Coral Gables, Fla., on April 24, 2004. From left to right are former Axcess Sports co-owner/agent Michael Huyghue, Wilfork (on phone) and Shapiro (far right). Multiple sources say this photo was taken in Shapiro’s VIP section at Opium Garden nightclub in Miami Beach in 2003. From left to right are Shapiro, William Joseph, Vince Wilfork and Jonathan Vilma. Shapiro and a second source say this photo was taken at Japanese steakhouse Benihana in 2003. The dinner, which was paid for by Shapiro, was attended by players Jonathan Vilma (standing on left), Santonio Thomas (standing on right) and Vince Wilfork (seated in red on right). This photo of Shapiro (middle) and Wilfork (right) was taken at the Hurricanes’ 2001 awards banquet. This photo of Shapiro and Wilfork was taken at Miami’s team awards banquet following the 2002 season. Shapiro said Wilfork signed this photo for him in 2003, with the personal message “To: Short [expletive]”. Photos special to Yahoo! Sports Cheating scum indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNJet Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Vince Wilfork is a fat lard a$$, no more no less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New York Mick Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Anybody who watched the Hurricanes and especially the ones who had to deal with them in the night clubs knew there was sh*t going on. Some of the ******* players could barely read or make a complete sentence. I'm just surprised it took the NCAA so long to get them. It was a lot more players then just Fat a$$, there's a former Jet involved as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Future HOFer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNJet Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Future HOFer. Future fatter lard a$$. No more no less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Future fatter lard a$$. No more no less. Probably more, like future HOFer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RutgersJetFan Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 It was a lot more players then just Fat a$$, there's a former Jet involved as well. Oh come on, we have 2 players (actually 3 up until a couple months ago) who were stars under Jim Tressel. Odds say no pro team is devoid of this crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNJet Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Probably more, like future HOFer. Dude he's just fat. And disgusting I might ad. And the fact that he plays for the leagues golden child Patriots helped him get the pro bowl ballots. He never does sh*t against our Jets. Greene, Martin, and even Kevan Barlow have ran right past his slow a$$ on several occaisions. Sorry, Kenrick Ellis has more potential than Wilforks fat lard a$$ does as a pass rusher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New York Mick Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Oh come on, we have 2 players (actually 3 up until a couple months ago) who were stars under Jim Tressel. Odds say no pro team is devoid of this crap. The only one I seen mentioned was Vilma but I only skimmed though the page though, I've dealt with the douche bag football players and staff enough in real life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmikeisback Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 The only one I seen mentioned was Vilma but I only skimmed though the page though, I've dealt with the douche bag football players and staff enough in real life. The Jets aren't arrogant pieces of sh*t who hold up their "way" as being above the rest of the league and the media laps it up when in reality they are the lowest form of cheating scum. Thats the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RutgersJetFan Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2010/10/story_alleges_former_buckeye_s.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villain_the_foe Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I dont see the problem here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Dude he's just fat. And disgusting I might ad. And the fact that he plays for the leagues golden child Patriots helped him get the pro bowl ballots. He never does sh*t against our Jets. Greene, Martin, and even Kevan Barlow have ran right past his slow a$$ on several occaisions. Sorry, Kenrick Ellis has more potential than Wilforks fat lard a$$ does as a pass rusher. Yeah, no. He's arguably the best NT in football, and right there with Ngata and probably Dockett as the best 3-4 DLmen in the NFL. Wilfork is the whole reason Mangold/C was a priority for the Jets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmikeisback Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 Yeah, no. He's arguably the best NT in football, and right there with Ngata and probably Dockett as the best 3-4 DLmen in the NFL. Wilfork is the whole reason Mangold/C was a priority for the Jets. He's as overrated as the rest of their scum franchise. If he really was one of the best NT in football, the cheating scum would've been better than 11th, 13th and 15th against the run the last 3 years. Jenkins was a much better player when healthy and Puoha even outplayed him last year too. NTM he's a dirty piece of sh*t who has tried to injure players many many times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 He's as overrated as the rest of their scum franchise. If he really was one of the best NT in football, the cheating scum would've been better than 11th, 13th and 15th against the run the last 3 years. Jenkins was a much better player when healthy and Puoha even outplayed him last year too. NTM he's a dirty piece of sh*t who has tried to injure players many many times. Jenkins when healthy was as good, but he also got hurt every year here. That's why he won't be a HOF. I'd trade 3 Pouha's for Wilfork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNJet Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 He's as overrated as the rest of their scum franchise. If he really was one of the best NT in football, the cheating scum would've been better than 11th, 13th and 15th against the run the last 3 years. Jenkins was a much better player when healthy and Puoha even outplayed him last year too. NTM he's a dirty piece of sh*t who has tried to injure players many many times. Exactly. Nicely done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWWombat Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I dont see the problem here. Me neither. NCAA athletes not being payed is a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt39 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 This goes on at every program. Yawn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F.Chowds Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Both his parents died while he was at school. Explain to me how he was going to support himself? I don’t begrudge him taking the money at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightCash Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Alot more than wilfork here.... Vilma thrown under the bus to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightCash Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Its also funny that people only read the title and say oh its just money I dont blame him. This was alot more... Prostitutes, abortions, engagement rings... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jets Voice of Reason Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Its also funny that people only read the title and say oh its just money I dont blame him. This was alot more... Prostitutes, abortions, engagement rings... In that order? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiFtheOracle Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Like anyone here would have turned down those offers for the sake of morality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetscanes331 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Alot more than wilfork here.... Vilma thrown under the bus to. This stuff makes me so sick. Our football program is going to suffer (rightfully so) way worse than any of the recent investigations with OSU, USC etc etc. This is the worst scandal since the SMU days. That being said, this clearly is a widespread issue and in the aftermath of all of this you're going to see dozens of schools and hundreds of both former and current players from probably every team in the league implicated. Sad, sad day to be a Hurricane fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jets Voice of Reason Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Like anyone here would have turned down those offers for the sake of morality. What's funny to me is that it is taking the NCAA this much time to do crap about it. Can't wait for the shocking revelation 10 years from now that college athletes participate in underage drinking and smoke weed. I don't even particularly care if college athletes get paid or not. With the amount of work they put into it, it's pretty much like working a regular job. They should just cap their earnings if they care that much about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWWombat Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Its also funny that people only read the title and say oh its just money I dont blame him. This was alot more... Prostitutes, abortions, engagement rings... Still don't have a problem with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt39 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 It's never as worse as it seems. This guy is broke in prison...people will do anything when they're desperate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetscanes331 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 It's never as worse as it seems. This guy is broke in prison...people will do anything when they're desperate. Yahoo sports spent a year investigating this. NCAA says they've been looking into it for 6 months too. It's as bad as it seems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiFtheOracle Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 What's funny to me is that it is taking the NCAA this much time to do crap about it. Can't wait for the shocking revelation 10 years from now that college athletes participate in underage drinking and smoke weed. I don't even particularly care if college athletes get paid or not. With the amount of work they put into it, it's pretty much like working a regular job. They should just cap their earnings if they care that much about it. Pay the kids, dont lie to yourself and act as if they can regulate it. You make enough money. The amount of money these guys get from agents/boosters/etc - isnt really that significant. If the NCAA just set up a structure where these kids did get some money and a scholarship based on grades and level of recruiting interest - its not going to hurt their revenue. Its just stupid at this point. You have these kids as the face of your university for 3-4 years, you ask them to do more than just play Football and go to class, and they watch you make millions off them. It almost encourages them to seek compensation how ever possible. The NCAA is a joke. Go Gators! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flgreen Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Pay the kids, dont lie to yourself and act as if they can regulate it. You make enough money. The amount of money these guys get from agents/boosters/etc - isnt really that significant. If the NCAA just set up a structure where these kids did get some money and a scholarship based on grades and level of recruiting interest - its not going to hurt their revenue. Its just stupid at this point. You have these kids as the face of your university for 3-4 years, you ask them to do more than just play Football and go to class, and they watch you make millions off them. It almost encourages them to seek compensation how ever possible. The NCAA is a joke. Go Gators! Paying them won't help. Even if they gave them a $1,000 a week, they would still go out and get $50,000 from sleez bag agents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiFtheOracle Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Paying them won't help. Even if they gave them a $1,000 a week, they would still go out and get $50,000 from sleez bag agents. I disagree. Paying them will absolutely help. Make it standard. Set metrics. If you sign with a D1 school, in a major conference and you held a 3.5gpa and scored ___ on your SAT - you'll receive 50k upon signing your offer letter. This is literally no skin of the back of the NCAA and I believe it would eliminate a lot of what goes on behind closed doors. Will it completely rid foul play, no, but I dont think you'd see it as rampant as you do now. The only set back I see, is what these kids do with the money when they get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aten Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I disagree. Paying them will absolutely help. Make it standard. Set metrics. This situation just blows that approach completely out of the water. Miami has been the definition of failure of institutional control literally as long as I can remember, and since it took until now to get around to actually nailing them for something the die is pretty much cast. At this point anything short of the death penalty is an affirmative step toward wholesale deregulation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jets Voice of Reason Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I disagree. Paying them will absolutely help. Make it standard. Set metrics. If you sign with a D1 school, in a major conference and you held a 3.5gpa and scored ___ on your SAT - you'll receive 50k upon signing your offer letter. This is literally no skin of the back of the NCAA and I believe it would eliminate a lot of what goes on behind closed doors. Will it completely rid foul play, no, but I dont think you'd see it as rampant as you do now. The only set back I see, is what these kids do with the money when they get it. Right now it's either make nothing and follow the rules OR make plenty and have zero drawbacks until after you are out of college, at which point, who gives a sh*t. If you let them get paid and heavily penalize violators of the rules WHILE they are in school than you can change the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiFtheOracle Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 This situation just blows that approach completely out of the water. Miami has been the definition of failure of institutional control literally as long as I can remember, and since it took until now to get around to actually nailing them for something the die is pretty much cast. At this point anything short of the death penalty is an affirmative step toward wholesale deregulation. So true...but maybe that is the answer. Especailly if the NCAA isnt willing to pay these kids. No matter what they do, no matter who hard they regulate...they will never stop it and this 10 years after the fact bull sh*t, isnt going to stop it from happening. Was the NCAA complaining when the "U", was making them millions and millions of dollars? Right now it's either make nothing and follow the rules OR make plenty and have zero drawbacks until after you are out of college, at which point, who gives a sh*t. If you let them get paid and heavily penalize violators of the rules WHILE they are in school than you can change the process. I agree, regulating it is another story though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flgreen Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I disagree. Paying them will absolutely help. Make it standard. Set metrics. If you sign with a D1 school, in a major conference and you held a 3.5gpa and scored ___ on your SAT - you'll receive 50k upon signing your offer letter. This is literally no skin of the back of the NCAA and I believe it would eliminate a lot of what goes on behind closed doors. Will it completely rid foul play, no, but I dont think you'd see it as rampant as you do now. The only set back I see, is what these kids do with the money when they get it. Where does it end? In South Florida even now they have guys called street agents who work for (wink wink) colleges like Tenn, Alabama, Georgia, ect. who are recruiting kids. Will High school kids be being paid? How about Pop Warner? High Schools also recurit now. What about the kid who isn't very smart? Doesn't qualify on the GPA, and SAT's. Which will be a lot of them. I agree, the rules right now are stupid. A kid can hardly even work a part time job if he is under a scholarship. The solution isn't that simple. A good step would be to get states to pass laws to hammer these agents when they get caught. Make it a felony not a slap on the wrist, and let the kids do reasonable jobs, for the school, or boosters with set guide lines. You get caught cheating, you go to jail. Throwing huge sums of money at them is only going to make the situation worst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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