Report: Wiretap Reveals LSU Coach Will Wade, Christian Dawkins Discussed Recruiting Offer
A phone conversation intercepted by the FBI reveals LSU coach Will Wade and former Adidas consultant Christian Dawkins discussed a recruiting deal offered to a prospect, according to a report from Yahoo! Sports.
The 2017 phone call reportedly included Wade being upset over a third party involved with the recruitment not having accepted his "offer" yet. Wade suggested that a player's verbal committment had been delayed because they weren't offered a big "enough piece of the pie in the deal" that allegedly favored the player and his mother, reports Yahoo Sports.
"I was thinking last night on this Smart thing," Wade told Dawkins, according to Yahoo Sports. "I’ll be honest with you, I’m [expletive] tired of dealing with the thing. Like I’m just [expletive] sick of dealing with the [expletive]. Like, this should not be that [expletive] complicated."
Dawkins was sentenced to six months in jail earlier this week after being found guilty of fraud and conspiracy charges for facilitating payments to the families of recruits.
Yahoo! Sports reports that no details were divulged on the phone call about the "Smart thing." ESPN reported in Oct. 2018 that Dawkins "had at least three phone calls" with a number belonging to Wade between June 19–30, 2017. LSU's freshman guard Javonte Smart committed to LSU on Twitter on June, 30 2017.
Wade also reportedly told Dawkins on the call that he made a "strong-ass offer about a month ago" to a the third party.
According to Yahoo Sports, the tape of the phone call does not include specific details of the offer, if its terms violated NCAA rules, if the player or his mother knew the offer existed or if anyone accepted it. The outlet also reports that Dawkins did not appear to know what Wade described.
Dawkins declined to comment through his attorney Steve Haney on Thursday, while LSU athletic director Joe Alleva also declined to comment to Yahoo! Sports. Calls and text messages to Wade and Smart's mother, Melinda, were not immediately returned to the outlet.
The tape also allegedly suggests that the FBI has other evidence and phone conversations that could be entered into evidence in the second trial of the NCAA college hoops corruption scandal, which is scheduled to begin on April 22. A representative for Wade was reportedly notified in February that the coach will be subpoenaed for the trial.
During the first trial, a phone call between Wade and Dawkins over 2019 recruit Balsa Koprivica came up. Koprivica eventually committed to Florida State but announced on Twitter on June 21, 2017, that he received a scholarship offer from LSU. His announcement fell within the timeframe of the phone calls.
"So you said to me … there was a 2019 kid I wanted to recruit, they can get him to LSU, you would have funded," Dawkins said to Wade, reports Yahoo Sports. "Would you want Balsa?"
Wade never denied speaking with Dawkins, but told the media last fall, "I have never, ever, done any business of any kind with Christian Dawkins," per Yahoo! Sports.
Dawkins, Adidas executive Jim Gatto and former Adidas consultant Merl Code received their sentences from the first trial at a New York City courthouse on Tuesday after being found guilty on several charges last fall. Gatto received a nine month prison sentence, while Code and Dawkins were sentenced to six months each.
All three men had been out on bond since October, when a jury found each guilty on all counts of committing wire fraud, as well as charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. October's proceedings marked the first of three federal trials related to the scandal.
